Forgotten Pasts
by StarWonder09
Summary: Kori has come back to the tower after 16 long years of being thought dead. With her comes a few surprises and old enemies. Can the Titans over come their emotional obstacles, salvage and form new relationships, AND defeat their enemies?
1. They Just Want To Forget

In this new story, characters and some events from previous stories will be involved/mentioned. In case you've never read any of my previous stories or need to refresh your memories, here is what has gone on before: In Beware of the Bananas, Beast Boy and Starfire lost their memories. In Terra X, Beast Boy, tripping and falling onto the statue, freed Terra from her stone prison. It was also found out that Red X was Robin's clone. In Speed Dating, Starfire learns that the twin she thought dead, Sunfire, was actually alive. She joins Titans East because she is dating Speedy, but is often at the Tower visiting Starfire. In Birthday Surprises, it's Starfire and Sunfire's birthdays. Last but not least in Raven's Origins, Raven's twin Rose comes to the tower searching for help. Raven resented her because she destroyed Azarath as a part of her prophecy. Rose finally gains the Titan's trust and takes them to a clearing. Rose then turns out to be Raven's eldest sister Trigana who tricked the Titans as a part of her plan to take over the world with their father, Trigon. The real Rose and Titania, Trigana's twin, rescue the Titans. In a battle, Trigana and Titania fall off a cliff. Trigana and Titania end up alive and Trigana promises to go good. In a final battle, Trigana, Titania, Rose, and Raven, with the help of Starfire and Sunfire, defeat Trigon. However, Trigana disappears in the process. Now that you're up to speed on with the story:

* * *

She stared fascinated at the raindrops gently beating against the window with a tap, tap against the window frame. It was easy to forget her world and drift into an imaginary one. All of the thoughts drifted out of her mind, all of her thoughts, worries, problems, and fears. They feel like they evaporated like the water will tomorrow from their puddles. 

"Mom. Mom!"

She felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around; a strand of her brilliant red hair fell loose from its hold in its hair tie, falling in front of her emerald green eyes. Her eyes showed years of sorrow and pain. Her face was pale and narrow with the tinniest hints of laughter from her earlier years. She shook her head, coming out of her trance.

"What?" she whispered softly.

"You ok?" her daughter asked. She looked like her mother except she had luminous baby blue eyes. Her face showed fifteen years of smiling and joy.

"What? Oh. Yeah. I am." The woman gave her daughter a soft smile. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. I was just checking.Oh guess what?"

"What?" her mother asked.

"I've got a new poster of the Teen Titans. One with Starfire! This one isthe 16th anniversary of Starfire's disappearance. You know, another one celebrating the work she did before she disappeared."

Her mother's face fell a little. "Wha-what?"

"Yeah. Well you know how much I love the Teen Titans, especially Starfire."

"Yes. Yes I do," her mother said with a sigh.

"Mom?"

"What?"

"Did you like the Teen Titans when you were younger?"

"Sure. Everybody did."

"I wonder whatever happened to Starfire," the daughter mused.

Her mother paled. She didn't have time to answer because a man, the girl's uncle, entered the room. She had never felt more relieved.

"How was school today Kora?" he asked.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Wonderful."

"That's always good," he said, missing the sarcasm.

"Kora, do you have any home work?" her mother asked.

"Yes," Kora said with a sigh. Her mother looked at her. "I'm going! I'm going!"

"That's a good girl," her mother said with a smile.

"Kori, you all right?" Redmond asked after Kora had left.

"Yeah. Why does every one keep asking me?"

"Because we care," he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Kori sighed. "I've just been thinking. That's all."

"Thinking or remembering?"

"No Redmond. I was not," she said sharply.

"It's ok. It is. You can remember," he said gently.

"I don't want to!" she said bitterly.

"Are you happy?" he asked.

"Of course I am!"

"So then smile."

"I don't feel like it."

"You haven't felt like it for nearly 16 years!"

"I know. It's been along time."

"You've changed you know. A lot."

"I know," she said softly. That's how she always talked now. Softly. "You have to you know."

"I never said I haven't," he pointed out.

"I'm going to go cook dinner," Kori announced, leaving Red alone to his thoughts.

He raked his hands through his jet-black hair. His baby blue eyes glanced out the window at the rain. He didn't understand why Kori fought so hard to forget her past. It's not like she had that bad of a past. His past was worse. He didn't have one. The furthest back he could remember was 15. She could remember when she was 2. Then again she had a really, really good memory. So good she hated it. All she seemed to want to do was to forget.

He continued to stare out the window, relaxing after a day of long day of work dealing art and teaching martial arts to many eager children and teens. He hadn't always been into teaching. But Kori helped him change into a more open person. She's changed so much. She's a whole lot different than the naïve girl she was when he first met her.

His eyes swept over the room. He laughed at all of the paint and art supplies laying about the room. Kori really should find start packing it up along with the rest of the stuff if they were going to start the remodeling soon. He kept nagging her to do it. She'd laugh and say she was getting to it when in reality she was just procrastinating. It's not like she didn't have the time. She did since she only worked at the day care from 10:00-2:00. Thinking about her laugh, he realized that even it wasn't the same. It wasn't as... cheerful. It was sadder, almost as if it hurt her to laugh.

The door burst open and in came Jenny. Her hair, died blue for the time being, was falling out of her pigtails and flying into her pink eyes. Her narrow, pale face glistened with sweat. She stooped and panted.

"Good run?" Kori asked coming into the room, holding a wooden spoon. Her cooking used to be horrid but gradually got better.

"Great," Jenny replied between breaths.

"Well dinner's almost ready. Then you can take your shower before your shift at the bar," Kori said.

Jenny nodded. She worked for a cosmetics company during the day and at the local bar at night. She found it was best for her to keep busy. So that she too could forget her past. The fact that her fiancé was dead and that it was all her fault. She was broken before she found Kori and Red. She still was but they helped her. Just like she knew they always would. The three of them were always there for each other.

"Hey Aunt Jenny!" Kora exclaimed, coming downstairs. That's how Kora always talked. She exclaimed.

"How was school?" Jenny asked.

Kora rolled her eyes. "Boring."

"Yeah, yeah. At least you didn't go to a horrible private school," Jenny said with a hint of bitterness.

"Yeah well I wish I could be home schooled like Mom and Uncle Red were."

"That's enough," Kori said. "You're homework finished?"

"Yes. I'm gonna go call Kara before dinner ok?" she said before running back up the stairs to her room.

Jenny shook her head. "That girl."

* * *

Ready to go to the bar, Jenny grabbed her jacket from the coat closet. "I'll finish packing up things tomorrow ok? It's my day off," she called to Kori. "I'm off now!" Walking out the door she noticed a slip of paper tucked into the screen door. "What's this?" she asked to herself opening the paper. Jenny paled. "Kori! Redmond! I think I have something you need to see!" she called running back into the house. 

"For goodness sake, what is it?" Kori asked.

"This."

Kori took the paper from Jenny's hand and read it, paling in the process. She passed it to Redmond.

"Where'd you find this?" Redmond asked softly.

"It was tucked in the screen door," she said nodding to the door.

"It's probably just a prank. Just a prank," Redmond said, trying to be convincing. "Besides, we don't know what it is they know."

"Right. Right," Jenny said. "Well I have to go to work now."

"Right, um, see you later," Kori said nodding.

She kept nodding as she crumpled the note and walked into the kitchen. Shehad to keep reassuring herself that things were fine. She tossed the note into the trashcan and continued her cleaning. The note un-crumpled revealing the words "I know your secret" written in menacing, large letters.

It's been almost16 years she told herself. If anyone knew, they would've said something earlier. Or so she tried to convince herself.


	2. Name Changes

**Dedication: Bunnysquirrel and 'rEd RoSe-StArFiRe-RoSeFiRe'. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Note: Every other chapter will be a flashback. All flashbacks will be written in italics. **

* * *

"Ok. What are we going to do now?" Robin asked as the Titans had gathered around the table. 

"_What do you mean?" Starfire asked confused._

"_Well the Titans East are breaking up, and our teen years have come to a close," Robin explained._

_He was right. The Titans East's disbanding had something to do with Speedy and Sunfire getting married. (It was a rather simple ceremony with a big party on Tamaran afterwards.) But after they decided to move to Jump City, the rest of them decided that it would be all right if they broke up. There wasn't very much crime where they were so it wasn't like a whole team was necessary. But they were still going to live in the city so if needed, they would be there to help. _

_He was also right about the teen years coming to a close. Terra was the last to turn 20. But now that she had, they realized that the name "Teen Titans" doesn't really apply anymore._

"_So does anybody have any suggestions on what we can call ourselves?" Robin asked._

_Everybody paused, thinking of names._

"_Uh… how about 'Super Titans'?" Beat Boy suggested._

"_What kind of a name is 'Super Titans'?" Cyborg asked._

"_Do _you_ have anything better?" _

"_Well, not right now. But it will be better than yours!"_

"_Guys, please. Is this necessary?" Rose asked. Since accepting her position as a member of the Titans, she has worked hard to be the peacemaker. _

_Beast Boy flashed her a smile. "You like my idea. Right Rose?"_

_Rose bit her lip. "Well… it's… it's well…"_

"_You don't like it?" he asked, crushed. He _could always_ count on Rose to stick up for him. _

"_Now I didn't say I didn't like it!" Rose said, "But it's a little… I don't know… used. But, it's the best we have right now!" she said quickly, noticing the hurt look on his face._

_Beast Boy looked a little happier._

"_Any other suggestions?" Robin asked. _

"_What about 'Team Titans'?" Terra suggested. _

_Sunfire laughed. "That sounds a lot like Teen Titans," she said. She and Speedy were there to help the Titans with their renaming meeting. _

"_Ok. So we've got 'Super Titans' and 'Team Titans'," Robin said. "Any more suggestions?"_

"_What about 'Titans League'?" Cyborg suggested._

"_That is better than 'Super Titans'?" Beast Boy asked. "Tell him mine's better Rose!"_

_Rose bit her lip. "Well, to be honest both of them aren't all that great."_

_Beast Boy and Cyborg scowled._

"_Well, whose is better?" Cyborg demanded._

"_Will you guys grow up already!" Raven snapped, coming to her sister's aid. "You've been competing like this ever since we formed this team! Now, do we have anymore suggestion?"_

"_Well, we could do the 'World Titans' except for the fact that, well, we're not a world team," Speedy said._

"_Nice try," Sunfire said laughing._

"_Fine! Justice Titans!" Cyborg said. _

"_Um, Cyborg, that's not much better than Titans League," Terra pointed out._

"_Well," Starfire said, "why don't we just become 'The Titans'?"_

_Everybody blinked. _

"_Why didn't I think of it!" Beast Boy exclaimed._

"_Because it's so simple," Rose said._

"_Then why didn't he think of it?" Raven asked._

_Rose giggled. "Hey! You're not supposed to laugh!" Beast Boy said._

"_But she has a pint," she said with a giggle._

"_So, does everyone agree with 'The Titans'?" Robin asked._

"_We don't have anything else," Terra pointed out._

"_Let's take a vote," Speedy suggested._

"_All in favor raise your hands," Robin commanded._

_Everyone raised his or her hands, including a hesitant Beast Boy. But once he saw that every one was voting yes, he raised his hand as well. _

"_So it's settled then. We shall be_ The Titans_," Robin announced._

"_You know, Aqualad changed his name to Tempest," Speedy commented. "I think I'll change my name."_

"_What's wrong with Speedy?" Sunfire asked._

"_It's a name for a child, not a man."_

"_Well, what is a name for a 'man' then?"_

_Speedy thought for a minute. "Arsenal."_

"_Arsenal?" Sunfire asked skeptically._

"_Yes. That's my new name."_

"_I was actually thinking of changing my name as well," Robin said. "I think I'll change it to Nightwing."_

"_Well there's a surprise," Raven said._

"_I think I'll change my name," Beast Boy announced._

"_Now you?" Rose asked._

"_Yeah. I'm not a boy anymore," Beast Boy said._

"_So what is your new name going to be?" Cyborg asked._

"_Uh…I haven't gotten that far yet," he said sheepishly. _

_Rose thought for a second. "How about… Changeling?"_

_Beast Boy conisdered it. "Yeah! I think that'll work!"_

"_Anyone else want to change their name?" Terra asked._

_Everyone shook their heads. "Then it's settled," Robin said. "We will make announcements tomorrow on the new names of The Titans."_


	3. Posters, School, and Missing Starfire

**Dedication: Bunnysquirrel. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans. **

* * *

Kora sat on her pink bed, legs crossed. Her room was bright with pinks and purples. "My poster is so cool," she said into her phone. She was talking to her best friend, Kara. 

"Where did you find it?" Kara asked.

"The poster shop. Duh silly." The poster in question was hanging on the wall opposite her bed, where tons of other posters of the Teen Titans hung, as well as one for each year Starfire had been missing. Each year, a poster was released in memory of the disappearance of Starfire.

"Well I got to find one. It'll go great with my collection."

"Well, my collection is better," Kora said, getting up to touch the poster.

"That's because _I_ have a life. Unlike _you_," Kara teased. Kora could picture Kara rolling her eyes.

"Yeah. Checking out guys is defiantly a life," Kora joked. She was pacing her room like she always did while on the phone, usually with Kara.

"You would be too if you weren't gaga eyed over my cousin," Kara said. Her cousin, Sean, was whom she was referring to. Sean, Kara, and Kora were the same age. Sean's parents died when he was a young boy so he lived with Kara and her parents, whose father was his uncle.

"I'm not gaga eyed over Sean," Kora replied.

"Come on! I always catch you staring!"

"Not true!" True, Sean was totally cute with his orange hair and baby blue eyes, like hers, but that didn't mean she stared at him. Much.

"Sure. Whatever you say."

"It's not true!" Kora cried.

"Ok. Ok. It's nothing to get all worked up about," Kara laughed.

"I'm not worked up!" Kora snapped.

"Ok! Fine! I never said you were! So, how freaked was your mother when you told her about the poster?" Kara asked.

"Oh, the usual. She turned pale. I just don't understand why she gets so upset over my liking the Teen Titans. Or well The Titans."

"I dunno. Maybe she and her friends were Teen Titans-" she was cut off by Kora.

"You mean into."

"Wha?" Kara asked.

"You said 'maybe she and her friends were Teen Titans'. And you meant to say into, right?"

Kara laughed. "Right. You're mom a Teen Titan? That'd be funny."

"Hey you never met my mom!"

"That's true. I've only met your Aunt Jenny," she replied.

"Yeah, just as how I've only met your dad. Isn't that weird?"

"I was thinking about that the other day. That is weird," Kara said. "Anyway, as I was saying maybe your mom and her friends were _into_ the Teen Titans and one of them died or something. So maybe it brings up painful memories or something."

"I guess that's a possibility," Kora considered.

"Anyway, my mom's yelling at me to get my homework done. I'll talk to ya later!"

"Tootles!" Kora replied. She hung up the phone.

She sighed. Her mom really worried her sometimes. But the way she reacted to her mentioning Starfire, reallyworried her. She got really, really pale. Which was amazing since she was already pale to begin with.She knew her mom was Tamaranian, just like Starfire was. Maybe she was friends with Starfire. No that wasn't possible. Her mom was only half Tamaranian. That's why her uncle and aunt didn't possess any powers likeshe and her mother did. She frowned. Except, her mom didn't use her powers much. No, that was because there was nowhere to use them. Or was that just because her mother didn't want her to use them? She sighed. Why did she always end up arguing with herself?

She was hungry so she decided a snack would be in order. She walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. The fridge was decorated with random report cards, photographs, pictures drawn by her when she was a toddler, and other random items. She laughed. Her mom was very sentimental. She frowned. Except, there was nothing from before the time before she was born. She'd noticed it before, sure, but now with all the packing for the remodeling, it became really noticeable.

As she walked back from the fridge, she noticed a crumpled slip of paper in the trash. "I know you're secret". Kora laughed. That sounded just like a prank Kara would do.

* * *

"Anderson, Kora?" a woman in a bright red suit called from the front of the classroom. 

"Oh, here!" Kora called, turning to face the front of the class. She had turn around because she was talking to Sean and Kara. "Isn't this great?" she grumbled. "A sub."

"Yeah. It always sucks when Miss Hart is gone," Kara whispered back.

"Yeah. Especially when Mrs. Hawkins is the sub," Sean complained.

"Harper, Kara?"

"Present!" Kara replied bubbly. She had her orange-red hair pulled up out of her face; curled wisps of bangs fell into her emerald green eyes. She and Kora were often told how much they resembled each other.

"Harper, Sean?"

"Yo!" he called, raking his hands through his orange hair, making it spike up even more.

"Yo? Yo?" Kara chided. "That's the way you talk to a teacher,especially_Mrs. Hawkins_?"

"Hey, he likes to live dangerously," Kora joked.

Mrs. Hawkins cleared her throat and straitened her red jacket. The classroom, which was buzzing with conversation, instantly quieted.

"We'll talk later," Kara whispered before turning her attention towards Mrs. Hawkins.

* * *

"So Kara told me about your mother last night," Sean said during lunch. 

"Yeah. It's weird the way she reacts like that," Kara said.

"Hey, you know what? Last night I realized something. There is nothing in our house from before I was born," Kora said.

"That's weird. There's tons of stuff in our house from before we were born," Kara said.

"Maybe your family's aliens," Sean joked, shoveling something that looked mash potatoes into his mouth.

Well he's half right, Kora thought.

"Uh, no. I don't think that's it," Kora said.

"Hey, you never know," he replied.

"Yeah. You never know," she replied softly. I wonder why, she talked.

* * *

"Can you believe that a week from today, it'll be the 16th anniversary of Starfire's disappearance?" Sunfire asked, sadly. "It still feels as if she were here. I almost expect her to come flying through those doors anytime now." 

"It sure has been a long time," Terra remarked.

"A very long time," Sunfire said.

"You know what I miss most of all?" Changeling remarked, "her cooking."

"It was horrible!" Cyborg replied. "But I do miss her trying to shove it down our throats."

"I miss her smile," Rose said. She was curled up against her husband, Changeling. They'd been married for about 13 years now. They had a set of10-year-old twins, a five-year-old daughter and another along the way.

"I wish the smile had been there for our wedding," Changeling remarked softly.

"I'm glad she was there for ours," Sunfire said quietly. She too was curled up against Arsenal, her husband of a little more than 16 years.

"Granted, her bubbly personality was annoying at times," Raven said, "but it wasn't all the time."

"You remember when Mas and Menos had that crush on her?" Speedy asked.

"What?" Sunfire asked.

"It was cute really," Speedy said.

"They kept trying to outdo the other one with gifts," Cyborg said.

Sunfire laughed. "I miss her so much."

"We all do," Raven said softly.

"Hey, Nightwing, got anything to say about Starfire?" Terra asked.

"Yeah you haven't said a single thing," Changeling said.

Nightwing looked up from where he was sitting. "What?"

"You feeling all right?" Raven asked. The two of them had tried the whole dating thing once but it never worked out. They realized that their relationship was purely brother/sister. Besides, Raven thought he had never gotten over Starfire's disappearance. She was positive that there was something more between them than he ever let on.

"Yeah. Of course I am," he replied.

"What do you miss about Starfire?" Rose asked quietly.

He wanted to reply everything, the way the sun illuminated her hair, the way her eyes were always shining, everything about her. "Her voice," he said finally. "That happiness it always had in it. The way she always seemed to be able to not have us stay mad at her for too long."

Sunfire nodded. "I could never get mad at her as a child." She looked at her watch. "We'd better get home before the kids do," she said.

"That boy would throw a party if we weren't there," Arsenal said with a laugh.

Rose looked at her watch. "We'd better get home as well," Rose said.

"Yeah, if we're not home before the kidsare, they'd probably burn the house down,"Changeling joked.

"Or kill each other," Raven muttered. Rose whacked Raven on her way to the door. "It's the truth."

* * *

"We're home!" Kara called out walking in the house. 

"Hey honey," her mom said coming out of the kitchen. Her red hair was pulled back out of her face.

"Where's Uncle Roy?" Sean asked. "We don't have much homework so we thought we'd do some archery."

"He's out back. Doing some archery."

"Where else would dad be?" Kara asked with a laugh.

She started to follow Sean but stopped. "Hey mom, are you ok?" she asked.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?" Sunfire asked.

"Well, the 16th anniversary of Starfire's disappearance is coming up. I know how much you miss her."

"Yeah. Of course I do. She was my twin after all," Sunfire said. "Don't worry about me. Go play," she said motioning for her daughter to go outside.

"We don't _play_ Mother. _Archery isn't playing_." With that said, Kara left her laughing mother in the living room.


	4. The Big Day

**Dedication: realfanficts, and Bunnysquirrel**

* * *

"_So. Today's the big day," Sunfire said._

"_It's just a press conference. Not a parade or anything like that," Starfire said._

"_Yeah. But you're making big announcements and all," Sunfire said, waving her hands by her head._

"_Does your husband know he married a nutcase?" Starfire asked, setting down her brush._

_Sunfire rolled her eyes. "You know, you've really changed," Sunfire said, sitting on her twin's bed and picking up a differentbrush. _

"_Like how?" Starfire asked, picking up her brush again. _

"_Well, for one thing when we were on Tamaran, you'd never call me a nutcase," Sunfire said, running the brush through her hair. _

"_You're right. I'd use the Tamaranian word for nutcase. Shageemorlof."_

_Sunfire shook her head and laughed. "For another, you're not as confused and naïve." _

"_Yeah well, I've been living on Earth for about five years now," Starfire said._

"_Yeah. But at least you're still bubbly. Don't ever change," she said, giving her twin a hug._

"_I don't plan on it," she said, returning the hug. _

"_So. You never answered my question, prepared to make a big speech?"_

"_No. Nightwing's going to do all the talking. I'm just going to stand in the back with the others."_

"_And you're not going to talk?" Sunfire asked. "Wow. You really have changed."_

_Starfire swat at her sister. _

"_Will you be able to stand still?" Sunfire teased._

"_Yes. I can."_

"_Another big change!"_

"_Sunfire, stop it!" Starfire yelled giggling._

"_Come on. Let's go join the others," Sunfire said, pulling Starfire out the door._

* * *

"_Friends of Jump City," Nightwing said, "For many years we have stood behind the town and supported you as best as we could as the Teen Titans. But sadly, our teen years have officially come to a close." _

_He was saying this at a podium set up on a temporary stage. Flashes of lights would have blinded him, and the rest of the Titans standing in a line behind him, if they looked directly out; they had to look up if the wished to keep their eyesight._

"_Do not fear! Do not fear," he continued, holding up his hand, "We will still protect you. However, we will be under a new name. From this day forward, we will be known simply as The Titans." He paused, waiting for the cheers of the crowd to die down. Atrickle of sweat rolled down his head. "Not only, do we have a new team name, some of the members of the team have chosen to adopt new names for themselves as well. I will now be known as Nightwing," again he paused while he waited for all of the die-hard Robin (now Nightwing) fans (mostly female) to finish cheering. "Speedy, will now be known as Arsenal." Another pause as more fans (again mainly female) cheered for Arsenal, much to Sunfire's annoyance. In answer to the cheering, Arsenal put his arm around Sunfire. Her annoyance receded, but only slightly. "Beast Boy," Nightwing continued, "will now be known as Changeling." There were more (mainly female) cheers, this time for Changeling. Rose bit her lip in annoyance. She frowned, annoyed when Changeling seemed to react happily to their applause. "I present to you, The Titans!" he said, sweeping his arm out to the side of him. Members stepped forward when their names were called. _

"_And Nightwing," Raven said, taking the mike from him after the others had be introduced. Nightwing, Raven noticed, stepped in line with the rest of the team, next to Starfire, really close to Starfire. Raven wasn't the only one to notice. In fact, the whole team, apart from Nightwing and Starfire, noticed. _

* * *

"_So that was a big night for us," Changeling said with a yawn. The Titans, except Arsenal and Sunfire, were making their way back to Titans Tower after almost an hour and half of signing autographs._

"_You were standing awfully close to Starfire there," Cyborg said._

"_Excuse me?" Nightwing asked._

"_You and your _girlfriend_ were standing pretty close to each other," Cyborg repeated._

"_Starfire's not my girlfriend! I don't have a girlfriend!"_

_Starfire, walking in front of the guys, heard every word the boys were saying. She bit her lip, fighting back tears. She didn't understand why he seemed to hate the idea of her being a girl and his friend. What was so bad about that? She spotted the Tower. She flew up to the top, leaving behind the angry voices. She brought her knees up to her chest and hugged her legs as she rested her chin on her knees. A single tear fell onto her knee. Was she that horrible of a person? _

* * *

"_Has anybody seen Starfire?" Nightwing asked, in the Tower's common room._

"_Aw, concerned about your girlfriend?" Cyborg asked. _

"_For the last time, she's not my girlfriend," Nightwing said through clenched teeth. "She's a member of our team. Of course I'm concerned. If Raven or you were missing, I'd be concerned."_

"_She's on the rooftop," Rose announced. _

"_What's she doing up there?" Changeling asked._

"_She probably wanted to get away from the three of you arguing," Raven said._

"_Besides, it wasn't like we couldn't hear you,"Terra said. "You guys didn't say very nice things." _

"_All I said was that she wasn't my girlfriend," Nightwing said._

"_No. You yelled it," Raven corrected._

"_That's not the first time you've upset her like that," Cyborg said._

"_I'm not the only one who is at fault," Nightwing reminded Cyborg. "I'm going to talk to her," he announced, going up to the rooftop. "I heard you were up here," he said, sitting down next to her._

_Starfire turned her back to him. _

"_Look, Star," he said. He was about to continue when Starfire rose in the air and floated to the other side of the roof. Nightwing sighed. "What's wrong Star?" he asked._

_Starfire continued to ignore him. Nightwing got up to go to her. Starfire stood up and tried to make her way to the door back into the tower. Nightwing grabbed her wrist._

"_Let go," she commanded. _

"_No. Not until you talk to me," he replied. _

_Starfire pulled her wrist from his hand. She narrowed her eyes. _

"_Starfire! Wait!" Nightwing said. "I just want to talk."_

"_I don't want to!" she replied._

"_Come on Star. What's bugging you?" he asked softly. If it weren't for his mask, she'd be looking right into his eyes._

_Starfire looked down. "Why would anything be bugging me?" she asked._

"_Will you please talk to me?" Nightwing asked._

"_Fine. Then will you please tell me why I _still_ am neither a girl nor you friend?"_

_Nightwing looked puzzled for a second. "Star, look, we've been over this before."_

_Starfire narrowed her eyes. "Fine," she said, turning her back to Nightwing._

_Nightwing sighed and rubbed his hand down his face. "Star, you know I don't not like you," he said. "We went over this when we were stranded."_

"_Well, maybe I forgot," Starfire replied curtly. _

_Nightwing sighed again. "Why are you doing this?"_

"_Nightwing," Starfire said, "I don not understand us. I've never understood us." She paused. "We are not ok," she said continuing, "We were not ok when we were stranded. We never became ok again."_

"_Yes we did Star. What makes you think we didn't become ok again?"_

"_Things are different between us," she said simply._

"_What makes you think things are different between us?" he asked softly._

"_You still do not seem to like the fact that I am a girl who is also your friend," she replied._

"_That's not true Starfire," he responded. _

"_How do you feel about me?" she asked abruptly._

"_Wha-what?" he asked caught off guard._

"_How do you feel about me?" she repeated._

"_You know how I feel. I told you. Remember? When we were stranded."_

"_So tell me again."_

"_Come on Star. You know I'm not good at this."_

"_Do I? Do I know you're not good at this? I don't think I know. I don't think I know how you feel about me. I don't think I've ever known how you feel about me."_

_Nightwing rubbed his face again. "Star, I think…I think…" he paused, fishing for and answer. "I think you're a great girl. And you're still the strongest girl I know."_

_Starfire's look softened slightly. "Go on," she said._

"_Uh… um… you… you're really brave," he continued. "And you've got a great personality."_

"_Like how?" she asked._

"_You're cheerful and…bubbly…and…and…happy." He paused. "You always make me laugh…and… laugh." He took her hands. "Look, I don't mind that you're a girl. I don't mind that you're my friend. I've always liked the fact that you're my friend."_

"_Really?" she asked softly._

"_Really," he replied, wiping the tears from her eyes. He couldn't help but notice the way her eyes were like two shimmering emeralds. Or the way the moon lit up her hair. He tried to shove those thoughts from his mind. "I enjoy the fact that you're my friend. And I hope that we will always be friends."_

"_Always?" Starfire asked._

_Nightwing smiled. "Of course I always want to be your friend. You always know how to make the team feel better. You're an asset to the team. I don't know how many times you've saved us. But I know, I'd rather be your friend than your enemy. I'd never want to be your enemy," he said with a laugh. _

"_Why is this funny?" Starfire asked._

"_Oh because there's a very good chance I'd lose," he said with a laugh. "You are one of the best at what you do."_

"_Really?"_

"_Yes," he said with a smile. You're also very beautiful, he thought. He shoved that thought aside. No need to confuse her. He didn't know why it even popped into his head._

"_So we are friends? Even though I'm a girl?" Starfire asked._

"_Yes! Of course! We've never stopped being friends because you're a girl," he answered. _

"_Even when we were stranded?"_

"_Of course."_

"_And after?"_

"_Of course." He laughed. Then immediately knew it was a mistake._

"_Why are you laughing?" she asked, slightly angry._

"_Because you make me laugh," he said. "You always have." _

_Then, like his hands had a mind of their own, he tucked a strand of her hair behind her head. Why did I do that, he asked himself. Starfire wasn't the only one confused. He was too, by her. Then, without thinking, he kissed her. He pulled back suddenly._

"_What… what was that for?" she asked._

"_I…I don't know," he said after a long pause. But then, he kissed her again, and then pulled back again. "No. We shouldn't… we shouldn't do this," he said finally._

"_Nightwing, please you are confusing me," Starfire said._

"_We can't do this," he snapped._

"_Do what?" she asked, eyes filling with tears._

"_This! This! Me, you, kissing!"_

"_And why not?" she demanded._

"_Because it's not right!"_

"_What's not right?" she asked._

"_Us!"_

"_And why not? Because I'm not… I'm not a… girl from Earth? Because I'm and alien?" She turned her back to him. Tears fell from her eyes and down her face. He confused her so much._

"_No Star. No," he said, turning her around to face him. He wiped some of her tears from her face. _

"_Then why?" she asked, sniffling._

"_Because. We're Titans," he answered back. _

"_Because we're Titans? Arsenal and Sunfire are Titans and they got married! Rose andChangeling are Titans!" _

_She had a point. "It wouldn't be right," he said at last. He still had her hands in his. He pulled one of his handsout of hers and wiped away more tears._

"_And why not?"_

_He didn't know. He also didn't know why he kissed her. But he did. Again. But this time he didn't pull back. _

_

* * *

Later in his room, Nightwing sat with his head in his hands. Why did I kiss her? Why didn't I stop? Why did I- he shook his head, trying to shake those thoughts from his head. He didn't know why. He usually didn't let a girl plague his thoughts like she did. What they did wasn't right. How could he face the other titans in the morning? Better question- how could he face her in the morning? __

* * *

Starfire sat on her bed, brushing her hair. Nightwing confused her so much. She didn't understand him at all. But she also didn't understand herself. Why didn't she pull back? She knew she should've, but she didn't. She sighed. Maybe she'd never have to come out of her room. That way she wouldn't have to face anybody. She pulled her communicator out of her pocket, turned it off, and stuck it in her drawer under a pile of clothes, like she did every night. _

_As she was getting ready for bed, she heard a clank against her window. She turned around, face to face to a man. She couldn't make out whom he was, but she knew he wasn't on her side. She screamed. He grabbed her and covered her mouth. She was taken by surprise only for a brief second. She was about to fight back when her world went dark._

_

* * *

Raven shot up in bed, tossing her book aside. She was almost positive that was Starfire's scream. She ran into the hall where Changeling, Rose, Cyborg, Terra,and Nightwing were gathered. _

"_That came from Starfire's room!" Nightwing said. _

_He ran off into the direction of her room, with the rest of the Titans following after him. When he reached the door, he tried to open it but it was locked. _

"_Let me," Raven said as a black cloud surrounded the doorknob. The door was then opened and the Titans ran inside. They looked around forStarfire butthe room was completely empty. _


	5. Fire

**Dedication: 'rEd RoSe-StArFiRe-RoSeFiRe', starfire92, Bunnysquirrel, and realfanficts! **

* * *

"Hey mom. Guess what I remembered!" Kora yelled, flying sown the stairs. 

"What?" Kori asked.

"Christmas Break starts in a week!" she shouted. Hey that's the day of Starfire's disappearance, she thought to herself.

"You just remembered this?" Jenny asked. Her hair was now pink today.

"Jenny! Your hair! It's pink!" Kora exclaimed.

"Well yeah. I had blue for about three months. My roots were starting to show."

"Oh. It's been three months?" Kora asked.

"I think someone's had their head up in the gutter for to long," Red teased.

"Ha, ha." She sat at the table. "Oh! I have to be early at school!" she said, jumping up.

"And you tell us now?" Kori demanded.

Kora grinned sheepishly.

"I'll take her," Red said.

Jenny shook her head as they left. "She is so your daughter," she said with a laugh. "In personality and looks. Well, except for her eyes. Those aren't your eyes."

"I don't have work today," Kori announced, abruptly changing the subject.

"Why do you always do that?" Jenny demanded.

"Do what?" Kori asked, although she knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Every time we start to talk about the past- or even come close to mentioning Kora's father- you change the subject!"

"All right, you want to talk about the past?" Kori asked, rather harshly. "What color were you ex-fiancé's eyes?"

Jenny bit her lip. "So you're going to make sure everything is packed up?" Jenny asked.

"Yes. I'll take the rest of the stuff to storage today," Kori answered. Since they were remodeling the whole house, as well as adding a few more rooms, they were moving everything into storage. A co-worker of Jenny's had an extra house that she was letting her and her family stay in until the remodeling was finished. "I'll also take the rest of the stuff over to the house today," she continued. "It's really generous of Sally to let us use her house."

"Yeah well, she doesn't have a use for it right now. She told me that somebody should use it. She's thinking about renting it out," she informed Kori.

"Renting it?" Kori asked. "I didn't know we were going to rent it!"

"Oh no! After us! We still only have to pay for the utilities and stuff we use like we agreed," Jenny answered. "She's not going to make any money off us."

"Well, it was still really nice of her. I'll have to make her a cake or something," Kori said.

"I'll pass on the information," Jenny said, grabbing her coat. "I'm off! Tootles!"

* * *

Kori sighed. She already transferred the rest of the stuff that was needed at the house. Now she got everything loaded to take to storage. Except for a trunk. She wanted to look at it before loading it up and taking it to storage. She opened the lid. Inside were hundreds of newspaper clippings and pictures. Every single newspaper article about Starfire and the Teen Titans/Titans from the Jump City newspaper lay inside. There were also papers off the Internet and newspaper clippings from other papers. 

She lifted the articles up. Underneath was a purple material, whichshe lifted. It was a short, purple sleeveless shirt with a lighter purple, almost silver collar, which had an-emerald like stone. She set the shirt aside. The was an arm band, the same color as the collar next to what looked like gloves with the hands missing of the same color. At the end of each one was another emerald-like stone. There was also a pair of long, purple boots. The top of the boots was the same color as the collar was. She lifted up a boot. Underneath was a skirt folded up neatly. It was purple and on the short side. It had a matching belt, the same color as the collar. She folded up the shirt and skirt, placed them and the other things clothing items back at the bottom. She then placed the clippings and such back on top. She wiped away a tear in her eye that was threatening to fall.

A yellowed clipping fell into her lap. Missing: The Disappearance of Starfire. Was She Really Kidnapped? Kori read through the article.

She sighed and dropped that one back in. She then closed the lid. She ran her hand over it. On it, there was the letter S carved on it. She hurriedly packed the trunk up in the car and drove to the storage place. The drive was torturous. Her mind was a whirl of thoughts. She almost missed the entrance, her mind so far away. She turned into the lot and passed a neon sign that read Jump City Storage. She parked in front of small building with the numbers 3-62 on the door. She got out of the car and unlocked the door. A musty, moldy smell greeted her.

She walked back to the car and pulled out the trunk only. She carried it into the corner and set it down. She then pulled a sheet, revealing two more similar trunks. The only difference was, that one had the letter R engraved in while the other hada J. She ran her hand down the trunks before placing her trunk on top. Then she pulled the sheet back over it.

After that task, she proceeded to unload the rest of the stuff from her car. She stacked boxes and such on top the trunks until you couldn't tell what was underneath. Kori sighed and continued until every box was out of her car. Finally, everything was unloaded and stored. She locked the door and got back into her car to drive to her empty house.

* * *

Kori was making her final rounds through the house when she smelt something. It was…burning. The smell of something burning! She whirled around, face to face with fire. It was burning up the room quickly, eating up the sides of the walls. Before she knew what was happening, the wall started to collapse. She ran from the room, trying to find a way out. But there seemed to not be one. Panicked, Kori fought back tears. 

"I'll find a way out. I'll find one," she told herself. As she was saying this, a chunk of smoldering wall fell on top of her, knocking her unconscious.

* * *

Jenny was driving with Kora back to their house after picking Kora up from school. They were going back to the house and meeting Red and Kori there for one final sweep through the house. 

But they had problems.They couldn't stay in the borrowed housefor another two weeks. Some family of Sall'ycame into town and they weregoing to stay in it. Sally was really apologetic. Turns out, they showed up unannounced. But the stuff they dropped off could stay there. That was the only good news. The other bad news was thatthey had nowhere else to stay. All of the hotels were booked up. They'd have to delay the remodeling for two weeks (which would end up being more of a delay because of the Christmas Holiday) or commute from a hotel out of town. If there were any available.

"I can't wait for vacation!" Kora was saying, interrupting Jenny's thoughts. "I just looooove Christmas!"

Jenny laughed. "I do too," she said, turning onto their street. Her eyes grew wide. "Oh no," she whispered.

"What?" Kora asked. Then she spotted what Jenny was talking about and screamed.

Jenny parked the car.She and Kora piled out. Their house was on fire.

"Mom!" Kora yelled noticing Kori's car.

Jenny held her back as she tried to run into her house.

"Let me go find her!"

"And get yourself killed?" Jenny asked.

"I can use my powers," Kora hissed, tears falling down her face.

"Starbolts won't do any good!" Jenny answered back, wiping away tears of her own. "I'm going to call the fire department." She pulled out her phone and began punching in the numbers as Red came running up. Kora threw herself at him, crying hysterically.

* * *

The Titans- Nightwing, Raven, Cyborg, and Terra, the only regular members- were walking down a street, after defeating a criminal, when they heard a scream. 

"What was that?" Nightwing asked.

"It sounds like it was coming from that direction," Cyborg said, pointing.

"It's a fire," Raven said.

"Well, let's see if we can help," Nightwing said, as the fourmade their way towards the fire.

"Titans! Titans!" a girl with fiery red hair gasped, tearing herself from the man's shoulder she was crying into. The girl looked very familiar. "My mom! She's trapped in there!" she cried, pointing at the house on fire.

Next to her and the man- who oddly resembled Nightwing himself in a way- was a woman with bright pink hair and eyes- who also looked very familiar- hanging up on her cell phone. Noticing the Titans, she paled but said, "My…sister is in there!" she cried hysterically.

"Anybody else?" Nightwing asked.

"No. Just her," the man answered.

Nightwing nodded and ran inside as Raven found a source of water and directed it towards the house. Once inside, Nightwing looked around, trying to find the woman. He spotted a clump of long, bright red hair under a pile of rubble. He moved closer and noticed an arm, confirming that there was definitely a body. In the distance he could hear a siren wailing and the rush as more water was thrown on the house. Carefully, he lifted the rubble and moved it aside, revealing an unconscious woman, who looked very familiar. Not wasting time wondering, he lifted her up gently, and tried to make it to the door. However, that was easier said than done. Pieces of the ceiling were falling into the pathway. At least the weren't fiery, only smoldering. Raven, Cyborg, Terra and the firemen were doing a good job putting the fire out. He saw a doorway, leading into the outside. Now all he had to do was get to it.

"I need help!" he shouted. Raven must have heard him because suddenly he was lifted up by a black cloud and flown out of the door. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he was running over to Raven.

"Mom!" Kora shouted.

Nightwing laid her down in front of Raven who immediately bent over and started to check her out.

Jenny and Red paled. "Raven can visit people's minds," she whispered to Red. "What if she finds out?"

"We'll worry in about that later," he answered back.

Raven couldn't see any bad injuries with her. She was slightly bruised and had a few burns but other than that, she was fine. There was one strange thing however; normally when she healed someone she could visit their minds. With her however, it was like her mind was completely sealed shut.

"She should be fine," Raven announced, perplexed.

"Oh thank goodness!" Jenny cried, tears running down her face.

"Thank you," Kora said to Nightwing. "Thank you so much for finding my mother!"

Nightwing smiled. "No problem." He was flagged down by a cop. He went over there and they started conversing.

Jenny looked down at her watch. "Goodness," she said. "It's already been an hour since we got here."

"I thought time only flew when you were having fun," Red said dryly.

Terra, Raven, and Cyborg were having a conversation of their own but turned their attention towards Nightwing as he approached them.

"Mr.…?" he asked.

"Anderson. Redmond Anderson. This is my sister Jenny, my niece Kora and my other sister Kori," he said pointing out everybody. Kori was currently lying on the ground with jackets as a pillow.

"Yes. Mr. Anderson. The police have inspected the house, and they're thinking its arson," Nightwing said. "Their not one-hundred percent certain, but that's their best guess for right now."

Red was nodding. "Oh boy," Jenny said.

"Oh boy is right," Kori said, sitting up.

"Not so fast!" Raven said.

"Just stay sitting," Cyborg said, resting a hand gently on her shoulder.

"Arson?" Red asked.

Nightwing nodded. "Mr. Anderson, do you have a place to stay?" Nightwing asked.

"Ye-"

Jenny cut him off. "No. No we don't at least not for two weeks and… and all the hotels are booked." she cried.

"What happened with Sally's place?" Kora asked.

Jenny rubbed her eyes. "We can't move in for two weeks."

"Is there any other place you can go?" Terra asked.

"No! No!" Jenny cried. "No place!"

Terra bit her lip. "What do we do?" she asked the other Titans.

"Well, we could offer to let them stay at the Tower," Cyborg said.

"It's only for a couple of weeks," Terra said. "And they have no where to go!"

"Well, it's not like we don't have the room," Raven said.

"It is only two weeks," Nightwing agreed. "All right," Nightwing announced, turning to face the Andersons. "Since you have nowhere to go, please stay at Titan's Tower."

"Oh! There's no way we could impose," Kori said.

"You need a place," Terra said.

"Well, let us discuss it," Kori said.

"Mom!" Kora cried. "It's Titan's Tower!"

"We can't," Kori said. "Raven can visit minds! She'll find out."

"Kor, we have no other choice," Red said.

"I suppose you're right," Kori said with a sigh. "We'd like to take you up on your offer," she told the Titans.

"Yes!" Kora cried. "To bad I can't tell anybody about it."

Nightwing smiled.

"Man, I'd be instantly popular!"

Terra laughed.

"But oh well! I can't believe I'm going to stay at Titan's Tower!" she cried.

Yeah, Kori thought. I can't believe I'm going back.


	6. Starfire's Kidnapper

**Dedication: Bunnysquirrel and realfanficts.**

_

* * *

Starfire found herself in an empty room, all by herself. She rubbed her head. _

"_Where am I?" she mumbled._

_She sat up and looked around. She was in a tiny, bare room. There was only a bed, a chair, a small table, and a lamp in the room._

"_Oh good you're awake," a man's voice said._

_Starfire whirled around. "Who are you?" she demanded._

"_I think it's fairly obvious," the man said dryly. _

_He was right. His suit gave it away. It was all black with a large red x down his chest. His mask was on so she couldn't get a good look at his face._

"_What do you want?" Starfire demanded, raising her arms to throw a starbolt. _

"_Uh, that won't work," Red X answered. He was leaning in the doorway holding a tray with a glass of orange juice and a piece of toast._

"_What?" she asked, eyes blazing._

"_Your powers. I set up a special mechanism that prevents the use of powers in this room," he answered._

_She lowered her arm. "So why'd you kidnap me?" she demanded._

_Red X sighed. "I'm not sure."_

_Starfire gave him an odd look. "What do you plan on doing with me?"_

"_I…I don't know," he answered. He shrugged. "I'm new at this. I've never kidnapped anyone before."_

"_Were you bored last night our something? Thought you'd get a kick out of kidnapping someone?"_

_Red X shrugged. "No I had a reason."_

"_Then what is it?" she demanded._

_Red X shrugged. "Maybe later I'll tell you." He walked to the table and set the tray down. "Breakfast," he announced. "I wasn't sure what you liked. Can I get you anything else?"_

_Starfire looked at him. "You are new at this." She inspected the food. "Do you have any mustard?"_

"_Um, yes. Does that mean you'd like some?"_

_Starfire nodded. "And some herbal tea."_

_Red X nodded as he walked out the door._

_Starfire was confused. What was going on here? _

_

* * *

Nightwing, Raven, Terra, and Cyborg looked around the kitchen. Last night, they inspectedStarfire's roomthoroughly. The only thing they could find was a red x that Red X himself used like a Frisbee. There was no sleep that night, the Titans spent the rest of the late night/early morning discussing it. _

"_So Red X probably did it," Raven said, covering a yawn. She got up and started a pot of herbal tea. _

"_Yeah. What are we gonna tell the rest of the Titans?" Cyborg asked._

"_What are we gonna tell Sunfire?" Terra asked._

"_Uh oh," Rose said, looking at a clock on the wall. "They'll be here in an hour or two."_

"_So I guess then would be the right time to tell them," Changeling said._

"_Hey Nightwing?" Rose asked. "Are you ok?"_

_Nightwing was leaning on his hand, his blank gaze studying something on the table._

"_Nightwing?" Rose repeated. Shetapped his shoulder._

"_What?" he snapped._

"_Are you ok?" she repeated._

"_Yeah. I'm just trying to figure out why someone wanted to kidnap Starfire," he said. "I also want to know how someone kidnapped Starfire."_

"_That's what I was wondering myself," Raven said. "The only thing I could guess was she was distracted."_

"_Yeah but Starfire doesn't get easily distracted," Terra pointed out._

"_It doesn't help her communicator is off," Rose sighed._

_Once they had gone through Starfire's room and didn't find much, the Titans immediately went to the computer to see if they could track her. The only problem was thather communicator was turned off. _

"_There's no other way to track her?" Changeling asked._

"_No. That's the only way," Cyborg answered._

"_Yeah. You're right," he said._

_Silkie crawled through the doorway, looking as depressed as a mutant worm could look. _

"_Look even Silkie's depressed," Terra said._

_Rose picked him up and cradled him. "It's all right Silkie. We'll find her," she murmured to the worm. She looked up. "Right guys? We'll find her right?" she asked, tears forming in her eyes._

"_I don't know," Nightwing said._

"_Of course we will!" Changeling said, jumping up to hug Rose around the shoulders. "Of course we'll find her."_

* * *

"_I'm back," Red X announced, walking back into the room. He carried a glass of herbal tea and a jar of mustard. _

"_So now will you tell me why you've kidnapped me?" Starfire demanded._

"_No."_

"_You said later. It's later."_

"_No. I said maybe later."_

_Starfire rolled my eyes. "So what do you plan on doing with me?"_

"_I told you, I'm new at this."_

"_Do you plan on killing me?"_

"_Killing you?" He laughed. "I don't have what it takes to kill you."_

_Starfire narrowed her eyes. "So I'm a prisoner until you think of something to do with me?"_

_He shrugged. "Basically."_

"_Are you going to write a ransom note?" she demanded. "All kidnappers write ransom notes." She actually didn't know this, considering the fact that she didn't know many kidnappers. Ok, no kidnappers. But Red X didn't know that. _

"_Well then I guess I'm not your run of the mill kidnapper. But could I technically be called a kidnapper since you're not a kid?"_

_Starfire looked at him. _

"_Well, I'll be going now," he announced. _

_Starfire watched as he walked out the door. She sank into the bed and took a sip of her tea. She wasn't an expert on kidnappings, but she was pretty sure that this wasn't a normal kidnapping. At least she had time to think. Which she soon realized probably wasn't what she needed. Her thoughts were a jumble. Slowly, she drifted off to sleep. _

* * *

"_Who's up for lunch?" Sunfire's cheery voice drifted into the kitchen._

_Uh oh, Rose thought. They'll be in here in a second. _

"_There you all are!" Sunfire's merry voice rang out, coming into the kitchen._

"_Um, guys?" Arsenal said. "What's with the gloomy faces? And where's Starfire?" _

"_She's probably asleep," Sunfire said. "She likes to sleep in."_

"_Um, actually, no she's not," Cyborg said. _

"_Well then where is she?" Sunfire demanded._

"_Sunfire, please why don't you sit down?" Rose said._

"_What if I don't want to," she said._

"_I think you should," Changeling said._

_Sunfire sat down. "Ok, fine. I'm sitting. Now will someone tell me where my twin is?"_

_Rose exchanged looks with the Titans. "We… um…don't know," she finally whispered._

"_What?" Arsenal asked._

"_See, the thing is…" Rose started to say but couldn't finish._

"_She's been kidnapped," Raven finally finished for her._

"_Kidnapped?" Sunfire cried. "What do you mean kidnapped?"_

_Rose bit her lip. _

"_When?" Sunfire demanded._

"_Last night," Terra said softly._

"_Well then why are ya'll sitting here?" she cried._

"_We don't have any leads," Nightwing said staring at the table. _

"_Well find some!"_

"_What about her communicator?" Arsenal asked._

"_It's not on," Cyborg answered. "We have no way of tracking her."_

"_So? Now what?" Sunfire cried, tears streaming down her face. "Now what?"_

"_We try and find her," Arsenal said, hugging his wife. "We try and find her."_

_

* * *

AfterStarfire woke up again, her thoughts soon drifted to yesterday. At least she thought it was yesterday. She didn't understand what she and Nightwing talked about. But she also did not understand Nightwing. He kissed her but then said they couldn't kiss. Was it her? Did he not like her? Was it because she was an alien? She felt tears drip down her face. She didn't understand itat all. _

Sunfire's right. She has changed. But how could a person not change in 5 years? She wiped her eyes. Nightwing could. He didn't change. He was still the same distant, anti-crime, Slade-obsessed guy. Would he even notice her disappearance? She wasn't sure. If a new crime appeared that he couldn't solve, definitely not. She wiped her eyes again. As her thoughts swirled in her head, she realized that this was actually a better place for her. She didn't want to go back to the Titans. Especially not while Nightwing was there.

"_I brought you some lunch," Red X announced, walking in on her wiping the tears from her face. _

"_Thanks," she said._

"_Um, well, I've decided to let you go. I mean… I have no clue what to do with you!" he said._

_Starfire laughed. "Thanks but no thanks," Starfire said._

"_Excuse me?" Red X asked._

"_I don't want to get you in trouble," Starfire answered._

"_Um, why not? I kidnapped you!"_

"_Yeah well, I decided I don't want to go back to the tower."_

"_Well, you wanna talk about it?" Red X asked._

"_No. Not really."_

"_Ok. But still, you can't stay here."_

"_Why not?" she demanded._

"_Well, this is no place for you to stay."_

"_Listen, I just want to stay here until I get on my feet," she said._

"_So you're giving up hero life?" Red X asked._

"_Yeah. I am," she answered._

"_So now what?" _

"_I don't know exactly. But can I stay here for awhile?" Starfire asked agian._

"_I don't think that's such a good idea," Red X said._

"_Why not?" Starfire demanded._

"_Because Professor Chang is after me."_


	7. Titan's Tower

**Dedication: Bunnysquirrel and 'rEd RoSe-StArFiRe-RoSeFiRe'.**

* * *

"So this is the common room," Terra said. She was giving them a tour of Titans Tower as well as showing them their rooms. She went with them to Sally's house and helped retrieve some of the stuff that they would need while at the tower.

"This way please," she said leading the Andersons up a stairway. "Now this will be your room Mr. Anderson," she said showing him a door.

"Did this room belong to a Titan?" Kora asked excitedly.

"Why yes it did. It belonged to Changeling," Terra informed her.

"Uncle Red! You're in an ex-Titans room!" Kora squealed.

"Yippee," Red said unenthusiastically.

Terra laughed. "Ladies, this way please."

"I wonder if we'll get a room of an ex-Titan," Kora exclaimed.

"Would you like the room of Rose?" Terra asked, stopping at another door.

"Would I?"

Terra laughed. "I'll take that as a yes. Next door is a room for somebody else."

"Does it belong to an ex-Titan?" Jenny asked.

"No sorry. This one doesn't," Terra answered.

"Then I'll take it," Jenny replied.

"It's all yours," Terra said. "Now Ms. Anderson-"

"Please, call me Kori," Kori said.

"Kori, will you please follow me, I'll show you to your room," Terra said, leading her down the hallway. She stopped at a door.

"Does this one belong to a Titan?" Kori asked grinning.

"Yeah. This was the room Sunfire lived in when she stayed here," Terra answered. "Starfire's room is next door."

Kori looked. Sure enough, there was a door with the name "Starfire" etched on a plaque.

"How come Starfire's room is the only ex-Titan room still with a name plate?" Kori asked.

"Oh, nobody felt like taking it off. I guess we just wanted to preserve her memory."

Kori nodded and bit her lip.

"You ok?" Terra asked, studying Kori.

"Uh yeah. Just a little in shock. You know, the whole fire thing," Kori shrugged

Terra nodded. "Right. Of course." There was something about Kori that bothered her. It seemed like she knew her from somewhere. "Well, um, I'll let you get settled then," Terra said.

"Ok, thanks." Kori answered. She watched Terra retreat down the hallway. She sighed as she carried her bag into her room. Well, her twin's room.

"No," she said to myself. "I'm Kori now. I'm Kori." She bit her lip, trying to stop a wave of tears that were fighting their way out. "No," she whispered. "I. Am. Not. Starfire." She rubbed her eyes.

"_I guess we just wanted to preserve her memory." _Terra's voice flashed in her head. She bit back tears.

There was a knock on her door. Kori rubbed her face real quickly.

"Come in," she said in a shaky voice. If anyone caught her crying, she could always say that she wasupset about the arson. They'd understand.

"Hey," Jenny said softly. "I just came to see if you were all right."

"Yeah," Kori said, wiping her eyes. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, I just thought because…you know…you're back at the tower…after like…."

"Almost sixteen years," Kori whispered.

"Right. Sixteen years. I just thought you needed some company," Jenny said, giving Kori a hug. "And it looks like you need me."

Kori sniffled. "Yeah. I guess."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Nah. I'm fine." Kori smiled. "Really! I am," she said when Jenny looked at her. "Let me freshen up and we can go back to the common room."

Jenny nodded. "Sounds like a plan. I know Kora is dying to go talk in the common room."

"I don'tunderstand her fascination with the Titans," Kori said softly.

"I think I do," Jenny said softly.

"What?" Kori asked.

"Nothing."

* * *

"We've been down this hall before!" Kora whined. 

"No we haven't," Red replied.

"Actually yes we have," Kori replied. "We need to go down… this hall," she said pointing. She began to lead the way. Before Kora knew it, her mom had led them to the common room where the Titans were.

"Man this place is big! We got lost!" Kora exclaimed.

Terra laughed. "Yeah it takes some getting used to."

"Good thing we had mom. She led us out of the hallway of mazes," Kora continued.

"You led them out?" Raven asked.

Kori fidgeted. "Uh…yeah."

"Which is so weird. She has like almost no sense of direction," Kora continued.

"So how did you know the way out?" Raven asked, studying Kori.

"Oh…good guess I guess," Kori stammered with a little laugh.

Raven studied her for a bit more.

"Uh, you don't have to stand there," Nightwing said.

Kora leaped in a chair. "This is so cool!" she exclaimed. "I'm in the Tower!"

Terra laughed. "It is cool isn't it?"

"Duh! This totally rocks!"

Jenny and Red sat down at the end of a couch. The only room left for Kori was next to Nightwing. Not wanting to stand, Kori sat down, accidentally brushing against Nightwing in the process. A tingling sensation ran down her arm. Did he notice that? She hoped not.

But he did. As she brushed up against him, he felt a tingling sensation run down his arm as well. But the thing that bothered him the most was the fact that he couldn't shake the feeling that he knew her in some way.

Nightwing wasn't the only one. Cyborg, Terra, and Raven had similar feelings. Cyborg, who was sitting next to Jenny, also couldn't shakea strongfeeling that he knew Jenny from somewhere.

"So what do you do?" Cyborg asked Jenny.

"Oh me? I work at a cosmetics company in the day and a bar at night."

"What a…combination," Raven said.

Jenny laughed. "Oh, they're both great jobs."

"Even the bar?" Terra asked.

"Most of the time," Jenny said with a shrug.

"What do you do Red?" Terra asked.

"I'm an art dealer. I also teach karate," Red said.

Terra laughed. "Man ya'll do some pretty different stuff."

"What do you do Kori?" Nightwing asked.

"Oh, I work at a day care."

"And she is so good with the kids!" Kora gushed.

"Really?" Terra asked.

Kori shrugged. "Yeah. They're cute."

Suddenly Kora shrieked. "What is that?" she yelled, pointing at a mutant worm making its way across the floor to Kori.

"Oh that's just Silkie. He's our pet," Terra explained.

Kora's look softened a bit. "Uh…cool. I guess."

Jenny and Red were each wearing a look consisting of disgust and surprise. Kori, however, had a small smile on her face.

"How come you don't look disgusted?" Cyborg asked. "Everybody always has a look of disgust when they first see Silkie."

"Oh…um…I think he's cute," Kori stammered. "Whoa!" She cried out, laughing as Silkie jumped into her lap and snuggled against her cheek. Silkie looked like he found his long lost best friend.

Even Silkie acts like he knows her, Raven thought.

Suddenly, a buzzer went off. Kori shot straight up in her seat.

Raven looked at her.

"Sorry... that...scared me," she said.

"We've got trouble!" Nightwing said, jumping up. He and the other Titans ran to the computer where Cyborg started typing, fingers flying across the keyboard. A small screen showed a view of the crime.

"You wanna watch?" Cyborg asked.

"Do I!" Kora exclaimed.

"Cool. Watch us kick butt," he said, hitting a button. Instantly, the crime came ona biggerscreen. "We'll see ya'll later," he yelled as he and the other Titans made their way to the crime.

"Cool! Front row seats without the danger!" she exclaimed, settling herself in front of the monitor.

* * *

"Ya'll kicked butt!" Kora exclaimed as the Titans walked back into the common room about an hour later. 

"Thanks," Terra said grinning.

"What smells so good?" Cyborg asked.

"Oh. That's just mom," Kora said. "She said ya'll were nice about us staying here that the least she could do was have dinner on the table."

"Well I for one am starved!" Terra exclaimed.

"And its soo cute. Silkie hasn't left her side. She was even feeding him some of the food," Kora continued.

That sounds like something Starfire would've done, Terra thought.

* * *

Later, the Titans were sitting around the common room. The Andersons had already retired to their rooms. 

"So does anybody else think the Andersons seem familiar?" Terra asked.


	8. Clones and Tears

**Dedicated to: Bunnysquirrel and Mizuki hikari!**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_Professor Chang is after you," Starfire repeated._

"_That's what I said," Red X replied._

"_But why?"_

"_He cloned me," Red X answered with a shrug._

"_So. What does that have to do with him coming after you?" Starfire asked._

"_When Slade wanted a clone of Robin, he went to Professor Chang."_

"_Ok. We established that!" Starfire stated._

"_When I refused to do what Slade wanted," Red X continued, "Slade refused to pay Chang."_

"_So why is he coming after you_ now_?" Starfire asked._

"_It took him awhile to figure out who Robin's clone was. He's not always very bright."_

"_So when Slade wouldn't pay, he wanted you back," Starfire said, slowly digesting what she was told. _

"_That's right."_

"_That's horrible!" Starfire cried. "Just horrible. So what are you going to do?"_

"_Fight Chang. He's not getting me without a fight."_

"_Well, you won't have to fight him alone," Starfire announced. "You'll have me."_

"_But, I thought you were going to not use your powers anymore. Besides, why would you want to help _me_?"_

_Starfire thought for a moment. Why did she want to help him? "Because it's not fair," she said finally. "It's not your fault you were created. Nobody should have control over somebody. Even if the other person is a…villain." She looked at him. "You're not really a villain are you?" she asked softly. _

"_No. I'm not. I just look out for myself."_

"_Then why did you kidnap me?" _

_Red X sighed and sat in the chair backwards. He rested his chin on the back of the chair and studied Starfire. "Because I was jealous," he said finally._

"_Jealous?" _

"_Yeah. I was jealous of Robin…Nightwing…whoever he is."_

"_Why?" Starfire asked._

"_Because. He's the guy I was cloned after! What am I? I'm the clone. The guy who was supposed to be '_just like him_'," Red X said bitterly. "Just like him, except evil and desperate to do Slade's bidding. What was I supposed to do? I was told this from the get go. So I lashed out. If I was supposed to be just like Robin, I wouldn't do what Slade wanted since Robin didn't either. So, I left him. Then I started doing what I wanted."_

"_I see. So how did you learn martial arts and stuff?" Starfire asked._

"_Slade taught me, before he told me who I was supposed to be."_

"_Robin."_

"_Right."_

"_If he wanted an apprentice so badly, why didn't he clone himself?" Starfire asked._

"_I'm not sure. Maybe he tried before. I don't really know," Red X said._

"_So why are you jealous of Robin. I could see why you don't like him. You've been told your whole…life that you have to be like him. But why are you jealous of him?"_

"_He's got friends. A life. Memories! I don't have any of that stuff. He can remember the time before he was…16ish," Red X said. "He has everything I don't have. He can be himself. I could never be myself with Slade. I could only be Robin, Robin who had everything while I have nothing."_

"_That's not true," Starfire said. "You've got friends too. You've got me."_

_Red X smiled. "I guess I could have worse friends."_

_Starfire looked at him, puzzled._

"_It was a joke," he explained._

"_I may have lived on Earth for about 5 years now, but I still get confused sometimes," she said. _

"_That's ok. I get confused sometimes too," he said with a smile._

"_But why did you kidnap me?" Starfire asked._

"_I just answered that," Red X said._

"_No. Why'd you pick me and not Raven or Cyborg?"_

"_Oh. He seemed the closest to you," Red X replied._

"_Me?" Starfire asked softly. "No you're wrong."_

"_Well. That's just what it looks like," Red X replied._

"_Well looks can be deceiving," Starfire said bitterly._

"_Did something happen between you and Bird Boy?" Red X asked._

"_No," Starfire said rather quickly. "We just aren't that close." We certainty aren't close like Speedy…Arsenal and Sunfire she thought. He'd never want to be. _

"_If you're going to give up your powers and live in the 'regular' world," Red X said, "you're going to need regular clothes." He extended his hand. "I'll give you something to wear and we can go shopping."_

_Starfire nodded. It sounded good to her._

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"_We've got to find her!" Sunfire cried._

"_How?" Nightwing demanded. "How do you expect to find her when there is no evidence?"_

"_What about the boomerang thing you found?" Sunfire insisted. _

"_That just proves who we think could've done it," Raven said. "It doesn't give us a ton of leads."_

"_So what? You giving up?" Sunfire demanded._

"_No. No we're not giving up," Arsenal murmured in Sunfire's ear as he hugged her from behind, trying to comfort her and restrain her at the same time. "We just need some time."_

"_Time, time! She could be killed!" Sunfire cried. _

"_Nobody wants that," Arsenal said. "We'll find her. We will."_

"_What do you know!" she snapped as she ran off. _

"_Should somebody go after her?" Rose asked._

"_I think she needs some time to herself," Arsenal said. "Somebody can go talk to her in a little while."_

"_We have to do something," Terra said._

"_Yeah but what?" Changeling asked._

"_I…I don't know. I just don't like feeling so…helpless," Terra said, staring down at her hands. _

_Nightwing stood up abruptly._

"_Where are you going?" Raven asked._

"_To find Red X."_

"_How?" Changeling asked._

"_Anyway I can."_

"_This doesn't sound good," Cyborg said. "You know how obsessive he gets."_

"_He blames himself," Raven said. _

"_I wish he wouldn't do that," Rose said. "We already have enough to worry about."_

"_That kind of behavior isn't good for the health," Terra sighed._

"_But what can we do?" Changeling asked._

"_Starfire…Starfire was always the one who came the closest to ending his obsessive behavior," Cyborg said._

"_I miss her," Rose said._

"_We all do," Changeling replied. "We all do."_

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"_Why won't anybody try to find her?" Sunfire asked crossly. "Why?" _

_She unsuccessfully tried to rub back a flood of fresh tears. She came across a door, Starfire's room. She opened the door and walked in. The room was filled with bright pinks and purples, a cheery room for a cheery person. She missed her twin. She missed her so much. They haven't had enough time together. Now it looked like they wouldn't have anymore time together. She sniffled. Why did they have to take my twin? Why Starfire? _

_Silkie poked his head through the door, looking lost._

"_Oh Silkie, you miss her too don't you," Sunfire said softly. She picked up the worm and snuggled him close. "We'll find her. We have to." Silkie made a sound that sounded close to a sob. Sunfire pulled him closer. "We'll find your friend. We'll find her."_

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_Red X and Starfire were walking down the street, on the way to X's tiny house, arms loaded with bags. _

"_So what do you do?" Starfire asked._

"_Oh, I deal art. Well, I help deal art. Mr. Leonid Kovar, is the main art dealer." He stopped after a gasp from Starfire. "What, you know him?" Red X asked._

"_I don't know…the name seems… very familiar," Starfire answered._

"_I'll take you to meet him tomorrow," Red X replied. _

_Starfire nodded._

"_Anyway, he's letting me rent the house rather cheaply. He's really helping me out. I'm sure he can help you out too," Red X said._

"_I'd love the help," she replied._

_The two continued on their way to the house until they came across a distraught young woman._

"_Jinx?" Starfire asked, recognizing the young woman._

_The woman's pink hair was disheveled and falling out its hair ties. She had tears streaming down her hair, her clothing was torn and there were some burn marks on her._

_Starfire bent down next to her. "Are you ok?" she asked. "Where's Kid Flash?"_

"_De-de-dead!" Jinx wailed. _


	9. Kori or Starfire

**Dedication: Mizuki hikari, Bunnysquirrel, and realfanficts!**

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"So does anybody else think the Andersons seem familiar?" Terra asked.

"There's something strange with them," Raven said. "I can't enter their mind. It's like its blocked for some reason."

"Everyone's?" Cyborg asked.

"Well, I can get into Kora's. It's the others I can't get into," Raven answered.

"Is there any reason you could think of?" Nightwing asked

"Yes. Usually, they're trying to forget something. They block those thoughts from entering their minds, which prevents me from being able to read into anything when I enter their minds," Raven said. "It's kind of tricky."

"I noticed," Terra said dryly.

"Has anybody noticed how…. excited Silkie seems around Kori?" Cyborg asked.

"Yeah. I haven't seen him act that way since…" Terra started to say but trailed off.

"Since Starfire was around," Nightwing finished. "Kori looks like her, don't you think? Her daughter also looks a lot like Starfire when Starfire was her age."

"You don't actually think Kori is Starfire?" Cyborg asked.

"No. I just think they look similar," Nightwing said.

"There's no way Kori could be Starfire," Terra said. "Starfire would never stay away from us!"

'Terra's right. Starfire wouldn't stay away. It's just not like her," Raven said.

"Jenny also seems very familiar," Cyborg said. "I just can't seem to figure out who it is that she reminds me of."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So what are we going to do?" Jenny asked, raking her hand through her pink hair.

"There's nothing to do. For two weeks, we're stuck here," Red answered.

"Yeah! But there's got to be somewhere else we can go!" Kori replied. "I can't…I can't have them finding out!"

"Where do you plan on going Kori?" Jenny asked.

Kori sighed. "I don't know. I just…I just don't want to stay here any longer. It brings up too many memories."

"I know," Jenny said giving her a hug. "But they can't be all that bad," she continued.

"They're not. For the most part they're all great," Kori said. "But some of them still hurt. Besides, if they ever found out, they'd never understand."

"Understand why you stayed away?" Red asked.

"Yeah. Sometimes _I_ don't even understand. It…it just felt right you know?"

Jenny nodded. "Yeah. You've told us that before."

Kori shrugged. "And when Kora was born, I really couldn't go back. Titans Tower is no place to raise a baby."

"Well, we're here for now," Red said. "We just have to hope nobody discovers our secret."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A week flew by and before Kora knew it, it was the last day of the fall semester. "Finals are done!" she exclaimed to Kara and Sean.

"I for one am glad for Christmas vacation!" Kara said.

"To bad we're not going anywhere for Christmas," Sean said.

"Hey, we're not going anywhere either," Kora said. "We'll have to get together."

"Where are you guys staying?" Kara asked. "You never told us."

"Oh, um, just a, um friend let us stay at our place," Kora said, fidgeting slightly. She wasn't entirely lying. The Titans could be considered friends. "I don't know the address." That wasn't really a lie. She wasn't even sure if Titans Tower had an address.

"Oh. Too bad," Sean said. "How would we be able to get together?"

"I could call you!" Kora said.

"Duh Sean. Use that brain of yours," Kara said, whacking him in the head.

"If he has one," Kora joked. "I got to get going. I'll call ya'll later!" she said, waving goodbye.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kori woke up the next morning by the sun shining in her eyes. She groggily looked at the clock on the table beside her. Then it hit her. The 16th anniversary of her disappearance was today. Would she be able to make it through the day? She wasn't sure.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunfire (who was going by the name Kari), Arsenal (who was going by Roy), Kara, and Sean entered the tower. The Titans had invited them over to lunch.

"Mom!" Kara hissed, "Sean and I can't go in there!" She was referring to the common room.

"Why not?" Sean asked. "I was gonna challenge Cyborg to play a video game."

"We can't go in because Kora is sitting on their couch."

"What is she doing there?" Roy asked.

"Oh. Raven told me they had a family staying there for a couple of weeks," Kari said.

"Well we can't go in," Kara said, "Dad either. She knows Dad too."

"Ok, I'll go inform Raven," Kari replied, entering the common room.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kori closed her door and entered the hallway. She had been on nerve all morning. She stopped when she reached the door to her own room. Had it changed? She thought she remembered Terra saying something about no one every really going into the room. She looked around the hallway before turning the knob and stepping inside. The room really hadn't changed.

"It's a bright room isn't it?" someone asked.

Kori gasped and whirled around, face to face with Nightwing. "Oh…I… I was just looking!" she stammered. "I was just leaving!"

Nightwing gave a small laugh. "No. It's ok. It's about time some one entered this room. Your daughter wanted you to come down for lunch." As quick as he had appeared, he was gone, giving Kori no time to comment.

She looked around the hall again before re-entering the room. Carefully, she went over to the chest against the wall. She opened it up and dug around under the clothes. Then she found what she was looking for. Her communicator. Right where she had left it, the same exact spot she had put it each night up until 16 years ago. She pulled it out and quickly turned it on. She wanted one last look at it one last time.

"Mom? You coming for lunch?" Kara's voice called out.

"Um, yes! I'll be right there!" she replied.

She hit the off button and dropped it in her purse. She might as well take it. It was hers after all.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Why are you guys standing out here?" Rose asked as she and Changeling, who was going by the name Garfield Logan these days, came into the hallway where Kara, Sean, and Roy were.

Rose had her five year old, Dove in her arms. Their ten year olds, Lily and Zach, trailed her and Garfield. The three kids had the same pale skin as their mother. The two girls had soft, dark curls. Lily and Zach's hair were both dark with a greenish tint while Lily's hair was of a more maroon tint.

"We can't go in," Kara said. "The family staying in there is my best friend's."

Rose nodded. "Ok. We'll go in and see what we can do."

The Logan family entered the room just as Kori was entering as well. A siren was going off.

"She seems familiar," Gar whispered to Rose.

"She does, doesn't she?"

"That's the last one," Cyborg announced, making the siren end. It wasn't the same siren as the one that went off when there was an emergency.

"Last what?" Kori asked, not knowing that her twin was in the exact same room as her, talking quietly to Raven in a corner.

Kari stiffened when she heard that voice.

"What is it?" Raven asked.

"That voice. It seems so familiar," Kari replied. She turned her attention to Kori.

"We're doing a random test of all of the communicators," Terra informed her. She had her communicator in her hand. "Mine was the last one."

"They do one every month!" Kora squealed, delighted to know this.

Kori laughed.

"Ready for lunch?" Jenny asked as she and Red entered the room.

Kori nodded as a siren rang out. It sounded like the one that was used for the tests.

"That's impossible!" Cyborg exclaimed.

"I thought mine was the last one!" Terra said as she, the other Titans, Rose, Garfield, and Kari gathered around the computer.

"Does that say it's coming from Starfire's?" Kari asked, bewildered. "That's impossible!"

"Mom! It's coming from your purse!" Kora exclaimed as Roy, Kara, and Roy entered the room after hearing the commotion. Luckily, Kora didn't notice.

Kori paled. She turned it off. Or at least she thought she had. "Uh…" She opened her purse and pulled it out. "I…I found it on the floor when I was looking in Starfire's room! I was going to bring it you! I must have anciently turned it on!"

"That's impossible," Nightwing said. "A, we would have noticed that communicator before. We've been through that room so many times we would have found it. B, that communicator has been off for 16 years to the day. There is only one person who could turn that communicator on. Starfire."


	10. New Starts

**Note: This chapter was reposted to fix a mistake. **

**Dedication: 'rEd RoSe-StArFiRe-RoSeFiRe', Bunnysquirrel, Mizuki hikari, realfanficts, and Munchlax387! **

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"_He's dead?" Starfire gasped. Jinx nodded, choking back a sob._

"_Here, let me get her," Red X said. He took off his coat and wrapped it around Jinx before picking her small body up. "We can discuss this back at the house. Where its warm."_

_Starfire nodded. It was rather chilly outside; it was December after all._

"_Where are your blankets?" Starfire asked, back at Red X's tiny house._

"_I'll get them," Red X said, setting down Jinx on the couch. "There should be hot chocolate in the kitchen," he said, pointing in the direction of the kitchen. _

_She nodded. "What's hot chocolate?" she asked herself, going into the kitchen. She looked puzzled around the small kitchen. She wasn't sure what she was looking for. Did anyone at the tower ever mention hot chocolate? Not that she could remember. Only herbal tea. _

"_You don't know what your looking for do you?" Jinx asked. There was the hint of tears in her voice. _

_Starfire jumped. "No! No! Of course I do."_

_Jinx nodded. "Sure. I believe he said hot chocolate."_

"_Right!"_

"_You don't know what hot chocolate is do you?" Jinx asked._

"_No. Not really."_

_Jinx gave a small smile. "Let's see if we can find it."_

"_Shouldn't you be lying down?" Red X asked from the doorway, a couple of blankets in his hand._

"_I'm fine," Jinx said quietly. _

"_You and Starfire go into the living room," Red X said, handing Jinx the blankets. "_I'll _make the hot chocolate."_

"_So what are you doing here?" Jinx asked. "This isn't exactly Titan's Tower."_

"_I'm not a Titan anymore."_

"_Really? I heard you were kidnapped."_

"_I was. I'm not anymore," Starfire said as she picked at the blanket._

_Jinx looked at her puzzled. "You're not going back?"_

"_No. I don't want to." Her reply was soft; Jinx almost missed it._

"_Why not?" Jinx asked._

"_It's complicated," Starfire said softly._

_Jinx looked at her, puzzled. "You're different now," she said._

_Starfire gave a small laugh. "So I've been told."_

"_What happened?" Jinx asked._

"_It's been two years since we last saw each other," Starfire said. _

"_When we defeated the Brotherhood of Evil," Jinx said. _

"_I…matured in those two years."_

"_And turned twenty."_

"_I guess…I guess I got used to Earth. Things weren't as…confusing," Starfire continued._

"_And you started to change," Jinx assumed._

_Starfire shrugged. "I guess."_

"_Who wants some hot chocolate?" Red X asked, carrying a tray of mugs._

"_Thanks," Jinx said, accepting a cup. She took a breath of steam before gulping down a sip._

_Starfire hesitantly took a cup. She peered into it. "Is this good?" she asked._

"_You're telling me, you've been here for five years and you've never had hot chocolate?" Jinx asked._

_Starfire smiled slightly. "Yeah." She took a sip. "This is… pretty good," she said finally._

_Red X smiled. "Good. I added something special to yours."_

"_What?"_

"_Mustard."_

_Jinx spit her mouthful of hot chocolate out. "What?" she cried. "You added what to hers?"_

"_Mustard. It is a great tangy yellow beverage," Starfire said._

_Jinx looked grossed out. "Um…that's…oh Star that is so gross!" _

_Red X laughed. "She's right you know."_

"_You don't know what you're missing," Starfire said._

"_I guess I don't," Jinx muttered. "And I don't really care to find out."_

"_Jinx?" Starfire said after a brief silence._

"_You want to know what happened to Wally, don't you?" Jinx asked. She sighed and peered at her hot chocolate. Suddenly, tears were streaming down her face. Jinx rubbed her face, brushing back tears. "I didn't mean too," she whispered. It was her turn to be almost inaudible. "But it was my fault."_

"_How was it your fault?" Red X asked, grabbing her hands and holding them as he looked into her eyes. Starfire was hugging her on the side._

_Jinx inhaled and blinked back fresh tears. "Let me start from the begging," she said finally. "After we defeated The Brotherhood of Evil, we left and became…engaged. And then I kind of…well…elapsed."_

"_What do you mean?" Starfire asked._

"_I…I started getting involved with the wrong crowd again," she said, voice cracking. Fresh tears fell down her pale face. "I didn't mean to. It just happened. And then… then they set fire to our house and he… he died in the fire."_

"_Oh Jinx!" Starfire said, hugging her tighter. "It wasn't you fault."_

"_Yes it was!" she wailed. "It was all my fault. I promised him I would stay on the good side and I didn't it! And it cost him his life!"_

"_He loved you. He wouldn't blame you," Starfire said, trying to comfort her._

"_I don't want to talk about it any more!" Jinx said sharply. _

_Starfire nodded. "What are you going to do now?" she asked. _

"_Honestly? I don't know," Jinx sighed. "Could I possibly stay here for a little bit?" _

_Red X frowned. "I don't mind. But I don't know if there will be enough room." He waved his arm around the tiny room. "It's not that big. But if Starfire doesn't mind sharing a room, you can stay for as long as you want."_

"_I don't mind," Starfire said. _

"_Well, if you're going to stay, the two of you will need identities," Red X said._

"_Do you have one?" Jinx asked._

"_Well, I go by Redmond. I don't have a last name though. I've found ways to avoid needing one."_

"_Well when I was with… Wally… I went by Jenny. I can go on using that name," Jinx said softly, looking down at her hands in her lap._

"_What about you Star?"_

_Starfire bit her lip. "Well, my name on Tamaran is Koriand'r," she said slowly._

"_Is Starfire the translated name?" Jenny asked curiously. _

"_Close enough," she replied. She bit her lip again. "I think… I think I will go by Kori Anderson," she said finally._

"_Leonid Kovar is the only one who knows about me really," Red X said, "so what if… what if we said that you, Kori and Jenny, were my sisters. We could be the Anderson siblings."_

_Jenny nodded. "It could give us all… alibis. I guess that's a good word for it." She wrapped her arms around herself as if she was cold. "It'd give us identities."_

_Kori nodded. "That's sounds like a good idea. We can all get new starts."_

"_Tomorrow, we can inform Leonid. I'm sure he will help out." Redmond said lightly before yawning. "Why don't the two of you get some sleep," he suggested._

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"_Right this way," Redmond said holding open a door so that his "sisters" could enter the building. Kori had a small smile on her face. Jenny still looked upset but she tired her best to hide it. The room they walked into was small with doors leading to different places. Redmond motioned which way they were supposed to go. He knocked on a door. _

"_Come in!"_

_Redmond opened the door where a large man was sitting at a desk. He had short red hair and green eyes. _

"_Mr. Kovar," Redmond said._

_Kori gasped. Now she knew why his name sounded so familiar. "Red Star?" she gasped in disbelief. _


	11. Truth

**Dedication: Bunnysquirrel, starXrobin, and realfanficts. **

* * *

"That's impossible," Nightwing said. "A, we would have noticed that communicator before. We've been through that room so many times we would have found it. Besides, that communicator has been off for 16 years to the day. There is only one person who could turn that communicator on. Starfire." 

Kori sighed and yanked the communicator out of Nightwing's hand. She hit a button and turned it off.

"Fine all right. I was Starfire."

"Was?" Rose asked.

Kori looked up to see that the common room was filled with people. There was Rose and Garfield and family, Kari and Roy and family, as well as her family, and the other Titans.

"Yes was. I'm not Starfire anymore," she replied calmly.

"You were Starfire?" Kora cried. "And you didn't bother to tell me?"

"Kora, its not really that important."

"Not important!" she shrieked. "How is that not important?"

"It was a small part of my life," she replied.

"A small part?" Kora looked at her and shook her head. "You've lied to me my whole life!"

"Kora, no I haven't."

Kora laughed. "I'm sure!" She shook her head and ran off, tears streaming down her face.

Kara and Sean exchanged glances and followed her.

Nobody moved; everyone was silent. Kari was the first to break it. She was crying, not sure if she could believe her eyes.

"Is it really you?" she asked.

Kori sighed. "Yeah Kar. It is."

"Why?" she demanded. "Why did you stay away?" She came very close to Kori, her emerald eyes were flashing with anger. "Why did you make me think you were dead for so long?"

"Maybe its to make up for me going through torture thinking you were dead for so long!" Kori angrily retorted.

Kari's mouth dropped in shock. "I don't even know you anymore," she whispered before turning around and running out of the room. Roy shot Kori a curious look before following his wife. The rest of the audience was looking at Kori with shock.

Kori was trembling with anger. Why was she so mad? Her sister had a right to be mad. She couldn't believe she had said that. The others couldn't either.

"What was that for?" Rose demanded.

Redmond stepped forward, steadying Kori. "Lay off her. She'll explain if and when she wants too."

"The least she can give us is an explanation!" Garfield said.

"The _least_," Terra agreed.

"She doesn't owe you anything!" Jenny said, steadying Kori, who was still trembling, on her other side.

"Who exactly are the two of you?" Cyborg asked, not entirely nicely.

"I can guess," Raven said flatly. "Jenny is Jinx and Redmond is Red X."

"You stayed with them and not us?" Rose asked, the hurt in her voice obvious.

"What was so important that you had to stay away from us?" Nightwing asked. "And stay with _them_."

"You blame Jenny for Kid Flash's death, don't you," Kori accused. "You think she's no better than Redmond. Well I've got news for you! I prefer their company to yours!"

* * *

Kora sat on the roof, staring out into the ocean. Her knees were drawn in tight to her chest; tears were welled up in her eyes as she tried not to cry. Why had her mother kept that a secret for so long? 

"It all makes sense now," she whispered.

"What makes sense?" Sean asked lightly, coming up with his cousin in tow behind him.

"Everything! The way my mom always paled when I would mention the Teen Titans. The reason why Jenny and Red don't have the same powers I do! They're probably not even my aunt and uncle!" she cried.

"Same powers as you? What are you talking about?" Kara asked.

"The can't fly! Or shoot star bolts! Or lasers from the eyes!" she cried, before gasping as she realized her mistake.

"What did you say?" Kara asked quickly.

"Kar, your mom is her aunt," Sean explained.

"We're cousins!" Kara squealed.

"Remind me to be happy," Kora said darkly.

"Oh Kor," Kara said, kneeling down beside her, "is it really that bad?"

"Yes!" Kora snapped.

Sean put a hand on Kara's shoulder. She looked up at him. She nodded before getting up and walking away, not to far away, just far enough to give Sean some alone time with Kora.

"Hey," Sean said lightly. He kneeled down beside her. "Hey."

"What do you want?" Kora grumbled.

"To be your friend," he replied.

Kora looked at him. "You are my friend."

Sean shrugged. "Ok. Then I want you to be happy."

"Sean, how do you expect me to be happy when I learned what I learned?" she demanded before throwing herself in his arms and dissolving into tears.

Sean held her tight. "Its ok," he whispered, rubbing her hair. He was able to soothe her in minutes. "It's probably not as bad as you think," he said.

"You think?" she asked, pulling her head away from his chest. Her eyes and face were red from sobbing.

"Yeah I do," he answered softly. He looked into her eyes for a minute before he kissed her.

She was surprised at first but kissed back. He pulled away. "I've wanted to do that for awhile," he said softly.

Kora was speechless. Then her eyes grew wide.

"What is it?" Sean asked.

"My dad!"

"What about him?"

"Come on!" Kora cried, grabbing Sean's hand and pulling him back to the tower.

"Where are you going?" Kara asked, as Kora pulled Sean past her.

"Come on!" Kora yelled.

"Where are we going?" Kara asked.

"To get answers!"

* * *

"You enjoy their company better?" Garfield asked, obvious hurt in his words. 

"I thought we were friends," Rose said. Dove pulled at her mother's skirt. She looked down. She had forgotten they were in the room. "Zach can you and Lily take Dove to the play room?" Rose asked.

"But I want to stay here!" Lily whined.

"Listen to your mother," Garfield said quietly.

"Fine! Come on Dove," Zach said, taking her hand.

"I need to talk to you!" Kari stated, walking back into the room as she and her husband passed the Logan kids.

"Yeah! Well I need to talk to her first!" Kora said, dragging Sean and Kara in the room behind her. She let go of Kara's hand but kept a firm grip on Sean's. This didn't go unnoticed to Kori.

"What about?" she asked softly.

"Who is my dad?" Kora demanded.

Kori paled. "Why do you ask?" she whispered.

"Because I don't know what else you've been lying about," Kora snapped.

Kori bit her lip. Jenny and Redmond exchanged glances. Kori closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Your father."

"Yes. My father."

Nightwing looked at Kori. And then it hit him. "I'm her father aren't I?"

Before Kori got a chance to respond, the alarm sounded.

"Trouble," Raven whispered quietly.

"We can discuss this when we get back," Cyborg said. "Come on Kori, we can use your help."

"I can't," she whispered.

"Why not?" Terra demanded.

"I…I don't have my powers anymore."


	12. Starting Over

**Dedication: 'rEd RoSe-StArFiRe-RoSeFiRe', bunnysquirrel, realfanficts.**

* * *

Leonid Kovar, Red Star, stared with disbelief at the young woman standing in front of him. There was no mistaking who she was. Red hair. Bright green eyes.

"Starfire?"

She gave a tentative smile. "Yeah. That is me."

It suddenly hit Leonid. "Oh Red. Tell me you didn't."

"Didn't what?" he asked.

Kori threw up her hands. "No. NO It's… it's not what you think. I'm with him by choice."

"So you're going to not let the other Titans no where you are?" Leonid asked.

Kori shook her head. "No. Not right now."

"You're different now," he commented.

Kori smiled ruefully. "So I've been told. I've just gotten used to this world. It has been awhile since we've seen each other." She frowned. "In fact, the last time we saw each other you were hurtling into space."

He nodded and smiled. "I'm no longer radioactive. I have you to thank for that."

"I'm lost," Jenny announced.

"And who are you?" Leonid asked, turning to the small women beside Redmond.

"Jenny," she answered. Her normally pink hair was now dyed black. This way she would stand out less.

He looked at her. "Have you always been Jenny?"

"No. You might have known me as Jinx," she replied.

He nodded. "Nice look for you."

She smiled and ran her hand through her hair. "I think so too."

"Now would you please explain to me the company you are keeping?" Leonid asked Redmond.

"Nothing unusual. They're my sisters."

"Sisters?"

"Yes. Kori and Jenny Anderson."

"I suppose that makes you Redmond Anderson?"

"Yes," Red replied.

"I see."

"Jenny and I want to start over," Kori explained.

"I see," Leonid repeated.

"We were wondering if you could help us," Kori continued.

"Start over," Jenny finished.

Leonid gave a small smile. "We'll see what I can do."

* * *

Sunfire sighed with frustration. "Still no leads?" she complained. 

Rose shook her head, shaking her dark curls. "No. Still no leads."

Nightwing sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. If it weren't for his mask, he would have visible bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. He hadn't slept for the few days since Starfire's disappearance. "We'll have to alert the public," he said, staring at the table.

"Do we have to?" Changeling asks.

"I think they'll notice when Starfire is no longer fighting," Raven deadpanned.

"But… if… if we say something… that'll just make it more real," Sunfire sobbed. Arsenal hugged her.

"I know. But maybe if we announce something people might be able to help," Terra said.

"Or just make it worse," Raven muttered.

Nightwing stood up abruptly.

"Where are you going?" Cyborg demanded.

"To follow more leads."

"No," Cyborg ordered. "What you are going to do is get some sleep."

"Starfire needs to be found," Nightwing protested.

"Well you are not going to find her by killing yourself," Raven firmly stated.

"You are going to get some sleep," Cyborg declared.

"Fine." Nightwing started stormed out.

"I'll follow him. Just to be sure he does go to his room," Cyborg said.

"He's really killing himself trying to find my sister," Sunfire whispered.

"Well they are pretty close," Rose said quietly.

"Yeah. But the question is how close," Changeling commented.

The next day, the Titans announced their sad news. It hit the community of Jump City very hard. Everyone in the city took pride in the Titans and the shocking news delivered to the public shook the small community to the very core.

The news of the disappearance was also just what the tabloids wanted to know. Within minutes of the press speech, tabloids far and wide were ecstatic and plagued the Titans relentlessly for information.

"Maybe we should turn off the phone," Rose announced after the phone rang for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"What if its something important?" Changeling asked.

"Like what? Starfire announcing she's back?" Raven asked. "Wouldn't she just use the communicator?"

"Ok. Fine. Good point," Changeling agreed, defeated.

"I wish they would just leave us alone!" Rose cried. "Don't they know they're just making it worse? I don't see why people get so happy out of other people's misery."

"Because they're blood sucking leeches. That's why," Terra said dejectedly.

"Has anyone seen Nightwing?" Sunfire asked.

"No. Not since the press conference," Arsenal answered.

"I'm worried about him," Rose said.

"His obsessive behavior isn't very healthy," Terra agreed.

"But what can we do? There's no stopping him when he gets like this," Cyborg said. "Only one person was ever able to."

"And she's not here," Sunfire whispered.

* * *

Time slowly passed without any leads on the disappearance of Starfire. Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into a month. The stir in the town settled dow some. Many people had already given up on ever finding her again while there were still the few believers who believed that she was still alive. What nobody knew was that she was actually walking amongst the community.

Leonid actually didn't have to pull very many strings. Jenny was able to get a job at a cosmetics company pretty quickly and accepted at a Jump City University. Kori became the new receptionist at Leonid's Art Gallery. She decided to wait a little while before taking classes. The two were able to adjust to their new lives rather easily.

Kori was learning more and more about the world she lived in and really enjoying it. She felt like she was a regular human and she was really enjoying it. However, she did miss her old friends very much. She thought about the Titans constantly, usually every day. There were times when she regretted her decision, but then she'd change her mind. She wasn't exactly sure what powered her decision to hide away, but she felt like it was right. She couldn't explain it, but she felt that this was something she should do.

* * *

Jenny peered at herself in the mirror. She had to get ready for work. Something she wasn't exactly thrilled with. But hey, in between classes she had to make some kind of money. Her job wasn't all that bad. She was happy selling make up to people.

"Oh shoot," she muttered as she knocked her ring over trying to grab a hair tie.

She bent over, trying to get the tie and knocked over the trashcan. "Today just isn't my day is it?" she muttered to herself as tossed the trash back in. "Hey what's this?" She was holding something that look oddly like a pregnancy test. "Oh my gosh," she whispered, "it is!"


	13. Truth in Tears

**Dedications**: FennecDaFox, pixiepuff101, Bunnysquirrel, Nightstar Grayson, My-name-is-foxglove, realfanficts.

_

* * *

Nightwing looked at her. And then it hit him. "I'm her father aren't I?" _

_Before Kori got a chance to respond, the alarm sounded. _

"_Trouble," Raven whispered quietly. _

"_We can discuss this when we get back," Cyborg said. "Come on Kori, we can use your help."_

"_I can't," she whispered._

"_Why not?" Terra demanded._

"_I…I don't have my powers anymore."_

* * *

"You don't have your powers anymore?" Rose asked. "How can you not have them anymore?" 

"My powers run on my emotions," Kori answered. "I never felt the emotions to sustain my powers."

"What about flying?" Kora asked? "You remember how we would go flying together?"

Kori smiled softly. "Flying was the one emotion I could never forget."

"Listen," Nightwing announced. "We do not have time for this! Who is going to go with me?" He turned toward the door as the rest of the Titans followed suit.

"I'll watch the kids," Kara said quietly to Rose who had been reluctant to go. "Kora, why don't you and Sean come with me?"

"I think Kora should-"

"No mother," Kora interrupted. "I think I am going to go with them," she said, following Kara and Sean.

Kori collapsed in the couch and rubbed her face. "Could things get any worse?" she asked. "I mean seriously. This was not how I wanted things to play out."

"I'm glad," Redmond said dryly. "They think you left them for a couple of criminals."

"And she did in a way," Jenny agreed.

"No I didn't!" Kori cried. "The two of you are not criminals!"

"Come on Kori. We are reformed criminals," Redmond said. "Therefore in their eyes, you go from the glamour of the Titans to the not so glamorous ex-criminals. How would you react?"

Kori looked down at the carpet and studied the swirls. She didn't have an answer. "You're not criminals," she whispered softly.

"How would you have felt if your twin had posed dead for years and then you found her with a couple of ex-criminals?" Jenny asked.

"I would have understood!" Kori cried.

"Would you?" Jenny asked quietly. "Would you have understood?"

"Of course!" she declared. She paused and sighed. She studied the swirls a bit longer. "I mean I think. I mean the new me, I'd probably understand. The old me, the Titan me, not so much." She sighed, her eyes never leaving the swirls. " I get it! I get it! I know what you're saying." She exclaimed, with eyes still on the carpet. "I get it."

* * *

"Did the siren go off?" Lily asked Kara as she entered the playroom. 

The room was a child's ultimate play place. There was a high-tech computer, a stereo, a TV, a video game console, and a DVD player. As well as tons of toys and games that lined the walls.

"Yes. That was the siren," Kara answered. "But how did you know? I thought this room was sound proof."

"She was eavesdropping," Zach said, ratting his twin sister out.

"Is it true?" Lily asked.

"Is what true?" Sean asked.

"Is Nightwing really her father?" Zach asked, pointing at Kora.

"We don't know," Kora answered quietly.

"How do you not know?" Lily asked. "We know Changeling is our father."

"Lily, let's not talk about this now," Kara said quietly.

"Why not?" Zach demanded.

"Zach. Lily. Enough. I do not want to hear another word about the subject from you," Kara said sternly.

Lily opened her mouth to object.

"I said enough," Kara ordered before Lily could say anything.

"Fine," Lily pouted.

"Dove wants to play princess," Zach announced abruptly with a look of disgust.

"Come on Zach, let's let the girls play princess and we can play video games!" Sean said.

"I'll beat you!" Zach challenged.

"Yeah, we'll see!"

"Hey Lily, why don't you an Dove get your princess clothes?" Kara suggested.

Lily took Dove's hand and led her to a chest by the side of the room where clothes were spilling out.

"You ok?" Kara asked Kora quietly.

"Yeah. Lily is a curious little girl," Kora said with a small laugh. She closed her eyes. "I just want things to go back to normal," she whispered.

* * *

"Kori, you never really told us why you left," Redmond said. 

"And we never pressed you," Jenny said.

"But we need you to tell us why you refused to go back to the Titans," Redmond continued.

"I had to!" Kori cried.

"That's what you keep telling us!" Jenny sighed "Every single time!"

"But we can not use that as an excuse anymore!" Redmond agreed. "We have to know!"

"I had to!" Kori repeated. "I was suffocating there! I couldn't take it any longer!" She started pacing the room. "I couldn't handle it. It was hard. So hard to maintain my smile." She sat down as tears streamed down her face.

Jenny and Redmond were puzzled. She was always so happy.

"What made it so hard?" Jenny asked softly.

"He did!" she said tearfully.

"Who is he?" Jenny asked, sitting down beside Kori and stroking her hair.

"He. Him. The cause of my troubles!" she sobbed. "I never really got to see the world. All I did was fight crime day in and day out. It was business all the time. I thought I was going to go crazy." She choked on a sob.

"What are you talking about Kori?" Redmond asked.

"I think we'd all like to know," Kari announced suddenly from the doorway with the Titans flocking behind her.

"I don't have anything to say!" Kori cried.

"You don't have anything to say?" Kora asked from the doorway with her friends beside her. "All my life you always had something to say. You choose _now_ to decide not to have _anything_ to say?"

"I don't need to say anything to them!" Kori exclaimed.

"No Kori. You're not mad at all of them. You're just mad at one of them," Jenny said sharply. "Do _not _do this to them. They don't deserve it."

"They love you Kori," Redmond agreed.

"Just as we love you," Jenny continued.

"But we cannot support you in this anymore," Redmond said, unwilling to let it go.

"They deserve to know," Jenny agreed.

"_We_ deserve to know," Redmond continued.

"Whatever is going on in your head, you have to share with us. We need to know," Jenny finished.

"Come on Mom," Kora begged. "Tell me who my father is."

"Tell us why you stayed away," Kari asked.

"Ok. Ok. I'll tell you. I'll tell you all," Kori said after a long pause. "Kora. I think its time I told you who your father was."


	14. Pregnancy Test

**Dedication:** Nightstar Grayson, Bunnysquirrel, RoseXxxXThorn, nadiagirl, and realfanficts!

* * *

"Oh shoot," she muttered as she knocked her ring over trying to grab a hair tie. 

She bent over, trying to get the tie and knocked over the trashcan. "Today just isn't my day is it?" she muttered to herself as tossed the trash back in. "Hey what's this?" She was holding something that look oddly like a pregnancy test. "Oh my gosh," she whispered, "it is!"

* * *

_"Whose test is this?" Jenny asked herself. "I know for a fact it's not mine. And it can't be Redmond's." Jenny gasped. "Could it be Kori's?"_

_Jenny wanted to know the answer but she didn't have the time right now. She had to get to work. She'd find her answers afterward._

_

* * *

Jenny drummed on the counter. Only five more hours. Could this day go by any slower? She went over to a shelf and started counting the lip-gloss. 16. Just like the last 32 times she counted. She let out a frustrated sigh. Who did the pregnancy test belong to? Was it Kori's? If it was, who was the father? Could it be a Titan? _

All of the thoughts raced through her head. The only thing the hamster could seem to focus on was the pregnancy test. She felt like dismantling its wheel. What better way to clear her thoughts on the pregnancy test than stopping all of her thoughts? That thought had to be the most absurd thought of the day.

_She sighed and counted the mascara for the 33rd time. 12. Maybe she should put out more. 4 more would work. This way, there'd be the same number of mascara and lip-gloss for that line of make up. Maybe she should put out the same amount of make up for each brand. That way everything would be proportional._

_Jenny sighed again. She had to get a grip. There was no way she could last through the day if she didn't._

_A bell chimed from the doorway, signaling the approach of someone coming in through the door._

_"Good day. Welcome to Make Up And More. Can I be of any service?" Jenny asked, saying her ridiculous speech that she was forced to go through every time someone came in through the door._

_The woman shook her head and started browsing. That was usually how it went. She couldn't wait to get home. She had to put her mind at ease. What if it was Kori's baby? Would she stay? Or would she go back to the Titans? Or would she go back to her home planet? Or would there be a baby running around the house? Did aliens have babies the same way humans did? Would she be pregnant for 9 months? Or could it even be Kori who was pregnant? Could aliens use the same pregnancy test as humans?_

_"Excuse me. Miss? Could you ring up my purchase?" the woman asked impatiently._

_Jenny blinked as she came back to reality._

_"Yeah. Sorry," she answered as she began ringing up the purchase._

_Maybe I should dye my hair, she thought. She'd think of anything now to get her mind off the pregnancy test. Her hair was special. She could do anything to it and it wouldn't suffer the same effect as someone else who dyed their hair as much as she did._

_She looked at the clock and sighed. Only four and a half more hours to go._

_

* * *

It had been weeks since Starfrire's disappearance. Sunfire was still devastated but she was slowly getting over it. Slowly. _

_"I don't know what to do," she whispered to her husband. "I miss her so much."_

_"I know," he said soothingly, pulling her into a hug. "I miss her too. But you know what I miss the most?" he asked pulling away from her to look into her eyes. "I miss your smile. Will you smile for me?" he asked._

_Sunfire shook her head and buried it into his chest._

_"Why not?" he asked softly._

_"I forgot how," she whispered, tears brimming into her eyes._

_

* * *

"I know things have sucked lately," Changeling announced to Rose, surprising her as she sipped some hot tea at the table. _

_"That's an understatement," she said softly._

_"Well, I have something that might cheer you up," Changeling told her._

_"What?" she asked._

_Changeling just smiled. "Why don't you follow me and find out?" he asked, running from the room._

_Rose followed him outside where Changeling changed into a bird and flew off. Puzzled, Rose took off into the air after him. She wasn't sure where they were going but the route was lovely. She needed this flight to help her calm down. She sighed as the wind billowed through her hair. She forgot how nice flying could be._

_"Where are we going?" she called out, knowing full well that she wasn't going to get a reply. "It's beautiful," she announced, not necessarily talking to anyone._

_She took in a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air. It felt nice to be in the air, to get away from all of her troubles. Another second in Titans Tower and she would have burst into tears. She missed Starfire so much and she regretted that she didn't have as long of a time as the others to get to know her._

_Changeling began to slow and touched down in a clearing. There was a stream flowing by a huge rock. Everything was green with flowers. The view was breathtaking._

_"I thought you could use a change of scenery," Changeling said._

_Rose nodded. "I could," she smiled._

_"I just wanted to see you smile," Changeling answered._

_"I miss her," Rose admitted. "I miss her a lot."_

_"I miss her too," Changeling agreed. "She was the only one in that tower who would listen to my creations," he said with a laugh._

_"You told me about some of them," Rose said. "They were a little crazy. Like a tuba you could snorkel with?"_

_"Yeah. But Star loved it," he said, stretching out on a rock. "She loved it."_

_

* * *

"Finally!" Jenny whispered to herself as she slid the key into the lock. "I can finally get my answers." _

_Her thoughts had driven her crazy through her entire shift that day._

_"It's great to be home!" she announced, walking in through the doorway._

_Her smile fell from her face when she spotted her companions sitting at the table, stone-faced._

_"What's wrong?" she asked._

_"This," Redmond answered, holding up a letter._

_"What is that?" she asked, taking the letter and opening it._

_It was a typed note that read, "I don't create anything without payment. I **WILL** get my payment."_

_"What does this mean?" Jenny asked, perplexed._

_"It means he's after me," Redmond answered._

_"Who?" Jenny asked._

_"My creator."_


	15. The Father and the Fights

**Dedication: **Bunnysquirrel, Nightstar Grayson, and nadiagirl!

* * *

"Before I tell you who your father is, let me explain a little," Kori said. 

"Explanations are good," Terra remarked.

"They're a start," Raven corrected.

Kori turned to Kora. "Your father… your father… your father is not the most… caring person in the world," Kori said, fighting for words to say. "He cares. But it's usually about his work." Kori sighed and rubbed her face. "Kora, your father is in this room. Your father is… your father is…" She sighed before quickly saying, "Your father is Nightwing."

"And you didn't bother telling me?" Kora demanded.

"I couldn't tell you!" Kori cried.

"Why not?" Nightwing demanded, stepping forward so that Kora was on one side of her mother and he was on the other side.

"Because I didn't want you to push away your daughter the same way you pushed me away!" Kori turned to her daughter. She put her hands on her face. "I didn't want you to suffer the same way I did. I wanted to protect you," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. She embraced her daughter. "I just wanted to protect you," she whispered.

Kora's heart broke. She realized that her mother sincerely thought she was protecting her. And it might actually be the case. But why didn't she say anything?

It was also then that she realized how weak her mother was.

"Mom?" she asked.

Kori tried to stand. She wobbled around trying to regain her balance but she couldn't seem too.

"Mom?" Kora asked, panicking.

All she could do was watch as her mother collapsed. Luckily for Kori, Nightwing had quick reflexes and reached out and grabbed her before she could hit her head on a coffee table.

The rest of the Titans rushed forward to help Nightwing.

"What's wrong with her?" Kari asked, her voice shrill.

"What's wrong with my mother?" Kora cried.

"We're trying to figure it out," Cyborg answered. "Let's get her to the medical room."

* * *

"Will she be all right?" Kora asked Raven. 

"Yes. She just over-exhausted herself," Raven answered.

"But she'll be all?" Kora repeated.

"Yes," Raven replied.

"I'm going to see her," Kora announced.

"Just be sure not to get her worked up," Cyborg cautioned.

Kora nodded as she entered the room. "Hey mom," she said.

"Kora. Hi," her mom answered softly. She tried to sit up.

"No mom! Don't sit up," Kora cautioned.

"I'm fine," Kori answered. "I'm just a little tired. That's all."

"A little tired?" Kora pushed.

"Yes a little," Kori replied.

"Well still. Don't sit up. I don't want you to get to tired," Kora insisted.

"Since when were you so anxious about my health?"

"Mother! Please! Lay down!" Kora ordered.

Kori laughed. "Ok. Ok. I'll lay down," she answered. She lay back. "Is this better?"

"Much," Kora answered. "I'm glad to see you are all right mom," Kora said. "I'm glad you're not gonna die on me."

Kori laughed. "Well I don't plan on dieing anytime soon. But can we please talk about something else?"

"Ok. Let's talk about why you never told me who my father was."

Kori sighed. "Please Kora. Can we not do this now?"

"When do you want to do it?" Kora demanded. "Were you _ever_ going to tell me?"

"Yes. I was going to tell you. When the time was right," Kori answered.

"When would that have been?" Kora demanded.

"I do not know Kora," her mother answered sharply.

"Whatever Mom. We can continue this when you're better!" Kora snapped before storming out of the room.

* * *

"Was she ever going to tell me?" Kora asked herself, pacing in her room. "How could she not tell me about this?" 

There was a knock on Kora's door.

"What?" she asked sharply.

Sean poked his head in through the door. "Hey."

"Hi," Kora said, sinking down onto her bed.

"What's up?" Sean asked.

"Oh nothing big. I just learned that one of the city's great crime fighters is my father," Kora said bitterly. "And that my mother had been keeping secrets from me for most of my life. One of which included that my idol was actually my mother."

"Hey. Your mom loves you," Sean said.

"But she couldn't tell me this?" Kora shrieked, jumping up from her spot on the bed.

"Kora come on. Calm down," Sean said.

"Calm down?" Kora yelled. "How do you expect me to calm down?"

Sean grabbed Kora and pulled her into an embrace. "Shh. Shh," he said soothingly, stoking her hair.

Kora broke into sobs. "I just want her to tell me the truth," she blubbered.

"And I'm sure she will," Sean said soothingly. "Just give it some time."

He pulled her in closer and held her tightly.

"It'll be ok," he reassured her. "You'll figure this out in time."

Her sobs slowly stopped. She pulled back to look at Sean who laughed at her.

"You look like crap," he teased.

"Thanks," she replied dryly.

"Just letting you know," he mocked. "I don't want you to leave the tower looking hideous."

Kora hit him. "What would I do without you?"

"Oh, you'd just go out in the world looking ugly," he replied.

Kora laughed. "Thanks," she told him.

"For what?" he asked.

"For making me feel better," she replied. She sighed. "I don't know what to do," she admitted.

"Try to talk to her," Sean suggested.

"I have!" Kora cried.

"Without yelling," he suggested. "Try talking to her civilly."

Kora sighed. "All right. I'll try it _your_ way."

Sean smiled. "Good." He took her hand. "Your mom loves you and you love your mom. I don't want to see that relationship ruined."

Kora smiled and hugged him. "Thanks for looking out for me."

* * *

"Knock knock!" Kari chimed as she entered her sister's room. "How are you feeling?" 

"I'm just a little tired," Kori replied.

"No kidding. They said you over-exhausted yourself," Kari remarked.

"Well, I'm fine," Kori replied. She sighed and looked down at the bed. "Listen, I am sorry I let you think I was dead for so long."

"Kor, do you know how long I grieved for you?" Kari asked.

"I'm sorry," Kori answered, eyes misting up with tears.

"If it wasn't for Kara, I don't know if I would have made it through," Kari said.

"Isn't funny how our daughters became best friends?" Kori asked softly, looking down at her hands.

"He really hurt you didn't he?" Kari asked quietly.

"Who?" Kori asked. "Oh. Him. Yeah he did."

"Is he really why you left all of these years?" Kari inquired.

"Yes. I couldn't take it anymore Kar," Kori whispered. "I couldn't." She sighed and leaned back into her bed. "He kept pushing me away. And then that night. I shouldn't have done it. I don't know why I did. It's not in my nature." She paused. "But I did do it. And I got the most wonderful gift because of it." She paused again. "But he acted the same way. He pushed me away. I couldn't take it. And then Red X offered me a way out." She paused again and looked away. Fresh tears fell down her face. "I took it. This way I would never have to deal with him again. And I never told him he had a daughter because I was so afraid that he would do the exact same thing he did to me. I didn't want my daughter to go through the pain I did. I did _not_ want my daughter to know what it was like to have her father push you away. So I didn't tell her or him. It was the only way I could protect her," she sobbed. "My daughter is the most important thing in my life, and now I might have just lost her."

Kari hugged her. "No. You haven't lost her. You'll get her back. I know it."

* * *

"Um, hi," Terra said timidly, approaching Redmond. "I'm Terra." She gave a small smile. 

"Um, hi," Redmond answered, puzzled. "I'm Redmond."

"Yeah. I know. Your name is kind of floating around the tower," Terra said shyly. "I'll probably be shunned for talking to you," she joked.

"So why are you talking to me then?" Redmond asked seriously.

Terra shrugged. "I feel a connection to you, that's all."

"A connection?"

"Yeah. We're both reform criminals," she answered.

"And you're a Titan?"

Terra smiled. "Crazy, huh?"

"Just a little bit." Redmond smiled back.

"Yeah well, just because you made one stupid mistake doesn't mean you're all that bad," Terra said simply.

"I never made any mistakes," Redmond replied plainly.

"Oh. That doesn't mean you're not a good person," Terra replied timidly.

"I just look out for myself," he replied simply.

"Well sure. We all do," she replied.

Redmond looked at her baffled. "What are you doing?"

"What?"

"You're making excuses for me," he replied.

"Am I? I don't mean too," she answered quietly. "I just try to see the good in everyone."

"You see good in me?"

"Well yeah. Star-Kori does. I just wanted to understand why," she said softly, looking down at her hands.

"Well Kori is a special person."

"What are you doing?" Terra asked him.

"What do you mean?" Redmond asked.

"I'm just trying to get to know you," she answered. "And you're being stubborn."

"Am I?"

"Yes! I was trying to be friendly," she replied.

"Or press me for information," he answered.

"Why would I do that?" Terra demanded. "I was trying to be nice!"

"Like I said, only look out for myself." Redmond stood up abruptly. "I think I'll go see Kori now," he said, walking off, leaving Terra alone.

* * *

"Hey Red, you going to see Kori?" Jenny asked. 

"Yeah. I have some things I want to talk about. You want to join me?"

Jenny nodded as she joined in step with Redmond. When they reached the door, her small hand rapped firmly on it.

Kari came to the door. "Hey guys, I was just leaving."

Redmond nodded as he stepped aside to allow Kari to leave with an "I'll see you later."

"How you doing?" Jenny asked.

"Ah, the million dollar question of the day," Kori answered.

"Code for 'I'm fine'," Redmond remarkekd.

"Good," Jenny said. "Then we can talk about why you never told us anything."

"Anything being what?" Kori asked innocently.

"Anything being why you stayed away," Redmond answered sternly.

"And we don't want any of your other excuses," Jenny informed her.

"What, suddenly I can't keep secrets but you can keep yours?" Kori demanded.

"What are you talking about?" Redmond asked rudely.

"You remember that little pact we made?" Kori asked. "You know the one where we don't talk about our pasts?"

"Kori what are you talking abut?" Jenny asked, annoyed.

"Why should I share my past with you while you keep what exactly happened to Wally West to yourself?" Kori madly inquired.

"Kori, this has nothing to do with me," Jenny insisted, clearly upset.

"What is going on in that head of yours?" Redmond asked.

"I just want to know why I should be forced to explain myself when the three of you keep your past to yourselves," Kori snapped.

"Stop it Kori!" Redmond ordered.

"What about you?" Kori cried. "You never talked about your time as Red X or the fact that you are a clone! Just like I never talked about my separation from the Titans and Jenny never talked about Wally!"

"This is different," Jenny answered, her voice dangerously low. "Totally different."

"What?" Kori demanded. "You think I wasn't just as hurt as you were when we got together?"

"Kori stop it," Redmond told her, his voice just as low as Jenny's.

"This is totally different Kori," Jenny angrily insisted. "We weren't hiding from people like cowards!"

"No. You were just hiding from the fact that you were responsible for Wally's death!" Kori snapped.

Jenny looked as if she had just been slapped. "What did you say?"

"I'm not stupid!" Kori cried. "I heard the rumors and theories about how Jinx was responsible for the Flash's disappearance. Or death, depending on the rumor."

Tears formed in Jenny's eyes. "I can't believe you," she whispered, before running from the door.

"I don't think I even know you anymore," Redmond informed her darkly before leaving the room himself.

* * *

Jenny ran down the halls of Titan's Tower, not looking where she was going. She was fighting a losing battle trying to keep her tears from falling down her face. 

How could Kori say things like that? What happened to the sweet Kori? Why was she replaced by this… this mean Kori? This Kori who was so unlike her old self. She wanted the old Kori back.

"Hey, you all right?" someone asked her, someone she had just run into.

Jenny blinked back tears before looking up at the someone, Cyborg, and replying "Yeah. Fine."

"You sure?" Cyborg asked her. "'Cus those tears would suggest otherwise."

"Where does she get off?" Jenny demanded.

"Where does who get off where?" Cyborg asked, confused.

"Kori," Jenny answered. "Where does she get off accusing me of being responsible?"

"Responsible for what?" Cyborg asked, trying to follow Jenny's train of thought.

"It wasn't my fault!" Jenny cried. "It wasn't my fault!"

"What wasn't your fault?"

"Wally's death," she sobbed.

"Who thinks it is?"

"Well according to Kori, everyone!"

Jenny slumped against the wall and sobbed, completely giving up on fighting back her tears.

"But I didn't do it. I wasn't responsible. And who cares if I never talked about it? It was my prerogative!"

Cyborg caught Jenny and pulled her into his chest.

"Who cares if I never told her or Red about it!" Jenny continued. "It wasn't like she was not keeping any secrets from us! And just because we were trying to figure her out doesn't give her the right to get mad at us for not talking about our pasts," she cried into Cyborg's chest.

"She was just upset that's all," Cyborg said soothingly, still not quite sure what Jenny was talking about. "She'll get over it soon."

"You positive?"

"Yes of course," he lied. But truth be told, he wasn't even sure himself.

* * *

Later that night, not to long after dusk, Kori snuck from her room and up onto the roof of Titan's Tower. She just needed a little fresh air. That was all. Just enough to clear her head. What she wasn't expecting up there was company. That company being Nightwing. 

"What are you doing up here?" he demanded.

"I needed air," she replied.

"Should you be up here?"

"I'll be fine."

The two stood there silently, looking out at the city.

"How could you do it?" Nightwing finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Do what?" Kori asked quietly.

"Keep my daughter away from me," he answered quietly.

"The Tower is no place to raise a child," Kori replied calmly.

"Changeling and Rose did just fine," Nightwing pointed out.

Kori sighed. "That's different."

"How? How is that different?" he demanded.

"What do you want from me?" Kori cried.

"The truth."

"That is the truth," she retorted.

"I want all of the truth," Nightwing answered angrily.

"Fine! I was afraid you wouldn't love Kora! The same way you never seemed to care about me!"

Nightwing groaned and clenched the edge. "I did care about you."

"Well you have a funny way of showing it!"

"Did that night we spent together mean anything to you?" Nightwing demanded.

"That night was one of the biggest mistakes of my life!" Kori answered bitterly. She sighed. "But the product is one of the best things in my life," she continued.

"Why couldn't you share Kora with me?" he asked.

"Because. You don't seem to have it in your heart to love anything other than your work," Kori informed him.

Nightwing sighed and shook his head.

"You know, I was the only one who even tried to talk to you when you would become work-obsessed," Kori told him. "Nobody else even wanted to be around you." She sighed. "But all you would do is push me away," she whispered quietly. She sighed. "I'm going in now," she told him, leaving him alone in his thoughts.

Nightwing sighed before going in himself.

* * *

Not to long after dusk, Kora saw her mother slip from her room. 

"She's probably going to the roof," Kora whispered to herself.

Kora decided to follow her. She'd try to rationally talk to her mother, like Sean suggested. When Kora reached the roof, she could tell her mother was not alone. She could hear angry voices. She saw her mother talking to her father.

"Well you have a funny way of showing it!" she heard her mother say.

"Did that night we spent together mean anything to you?" her father demanded.

And then she heard her mother reply something that broke her heart, right then and there. "That night was one of the biggest mistakes of my life!" her mother answered bitterly.

Kora turned around, not bothering to hear anymore. "That night." Could that have been the night she was conceived? It was a thought most kids did not want to think. Who wanted to hear their parents talk about the night they were conceived? It ranked right up there with being named after the place where you were conceived.

But for Kora, the thought did more than give her the Heebie-Jeebies and make her want to scream out "Ew! Ew! Ew!" Could her mother actually regret her birth? That thought was the worst a child could ever think. And for Kora, it felt like it was driving a knife through her heart.

* * *

A man sat alone in a dark room at a mahogany table. The table was bare except for a photograph of three happy people- Jenny, Redmond, and Kori. He sighed as her picked up the photo. 

"Professor?" an aging woman asked, coming into the room.

"What do you want Headmistress?" the man asked with a heavy sigh.

"I just wanted to know how the plan was going," she answered simply.

"We just need to give it more time," he replied.

"Professor, I am growing old. I'm not as I used to be. I may not have all the time in the world," the woman responded angrily. "I want my former pupil back."

"And I want my clone back!" he snapped. "We will have to wait," he continued. He paused before saying, "Things are going better than we planned. The fire worked better than I thought it would."

"What do you mean sir?" the woman asked.

"Who knew the Titans would pick them up," the man answered.

"What does that mean sir?" she asked him.

The man sighed. "The Titans will open up old wounds," he answered. "They will soon start to fight." He picked up the photo and ripped it twice, splitting the three companions in the picture. "And when that happens, when their bonds split, we will be able to move in."


	16. Hypothetically Speaking of Course

**Dedication: **Bunnysquirrel, Nightstar Grayson, and RoseXxxXThorn!

* * *

"_Your creator?" Jenny asked, confused._

"_Redmond, she doesn't know," Kori told Redmond quietly. _

"_Oh. That's right," he muttered quietly. "Jenny, why don't you sit down? We have some things we need to discuss."_

"_All right," she said as she pulled out a chair. All day of wondering about the pregnancy test to forget about it right now. "Spill."_

"_I'm a clone," Redmond told her._

_Jenny burst out laughing. "Yeah and I have a twin sister in Singapore."_

"_Jenny, he's not kidding," Kori told her._

"_Yeah right," she answered. "Clones? In what universe are we in?"_

"_Jenny, it is possible," Redmond told her._

"_They've cloned sheep," Kori informed her._

"_Yeah. But that was _sheep_. Red is a _person_," Jenny told her. Jenny looked at him. "You are a person. Right?"_

"_No Jenny. I'm actually a sheep," Redmond said sarcastically. _

"_Come on. You're creator?" Jenny asked. "You are a clone?"_

"_Yes. I am."_

"_Ok. Let's pretend you are one. Whose clone are you, hypothetically speaking of course?" Jenny asked._

"_Nightwing's," he replied._

"_Well that would explain stuff," Jenny said._

"_Explain what?" Kori asked. _

"_Your hatred for him. Hypothetically speaking of course," Jenny explained._

"_I don't hate him," Redmond replied. _

"_Sure. But who is your creator?" Jenny asked._

"_Hypothetically?" Redmond asked._

"_Of course. Because I know you're just trying to trick me," Jenny answered. _

_Redmond sighed. "Jenny we aren't playing any games. This is serious. There are such things as clones."_

_Jenny sighed. "I suppose you're right. With this day in age, that shouldn't be very surprising. Who is your creator?"_

"_Professor Chang," he answered._

_Jenny thought for a moment. "His name is vaguely familiar," she said. "I think HIVE Headmistress mentioned him once or twice." She scrunched her eyebrows together. "Isn't he supposed to be some mad genius or something?" _

"_Mad describes him pretty well," Kori remarked._

"_But what would he want with you?" Jenny asked._

"_You read the note. Repayment," he answered._

"_Repayment? Repayment for what?" Jenny questioned._

_Redmond sighed. "I was created to be Slade's heir. But I did what I wanted."_

"_Ah. So you were no good," Jenny suggested._

"_Yes, and Slade refused to pay up," Redmond answered. _

"_So Chang wants you?" Jenny asked._

"_Basically," Redmond answered. "I'm just surprised it took so long."_

_"To catch you off guard maybe," Jenny remarked. "That's what some criminals think is the best way to win."_

"_Who knows how their minds worked," Kori commented._

"_I do," Jenny replied softly. "Or I did." She beat her hands on the table. "So what's the plan?"_

"_We wait," he answered._

_

* * *

The Titans sat around the table, blank stares on everyone's face. _

"_Thank goodness crime has been slow," Cyborg remarked. _

" 

"_I don't think any of us is up for crime fighting," Terra agreed, picking a piece of lent off the front of her shirt._

"_Guys, we've got to move on," Rose said softly. "We can't keep living like this."_

"_Living like how?" a melodic voice chimed from the doorway. She was caring a small bundle in her arms. _

"_How did you get in here?" Nightwing demanded, standing up._

"_I have a key," the woman answered, holding up the key as she moved her bundle around, her blonde hair falling into her eyes in the process. _

_Rose and Raven studied her; she seemed familiar to them. Her blonde hair was tipped dark pink and she had dark pink eyes. They were an unnatural, dark pink. _

"_Oh my gosh," Rose gasped. "Titania?" _

_The woman nodded. "In the flesh."_

"_What's that you have there?" Raven asked, as she and Rose approached her._

_Titania smiled. "Rose, Raven, meet your niece, Brooklyn," she told them, holding her up to show them. _

"_Aw, she's adorable," Rose crooned, looking at her. She had pale blonde hair sprouting from her tiny head. She opened her eyes and them and revealed that she had the same pink eyes as her mother._

"_She's got your eyes," Raven remarked._

"_And thankfully her dad's hair color," Titania said. "Pink eyes are better than pink hair. People can accept the eyes easier."_

"_Sorry we didn't recognize you," Changeling told her. _

"_You sure have changed you appearance," Terra commented._

_Titania laughed and ran her hand through her hair. "Well, I was sad to let my hair color go, but I had to look somewhat normal. At least I can tip it."_

_Rose took her niece into her arms and sat down at the table. She tickled her and laughed when the baby giggled at her. _

"_She is so cute," Rose told her sister._

_Titania smiled. "Isn't she? She's my pride and joy."_

_Changeling leaned over Rose's shoulder to look at Brooklyn. "You want to hear a joke?" he asked her._

"_Oh Changeling no," Cyborg told him. "Don't torture her."_

_A pale pink cloud encircled a small cup and it levitated around the room. A darker pink cloud grabbed it in the air before it hit the wall and guided it back to the table._

"_I see she is telekinetic," Raven observed. _

"_Yes," Titania sighed. "Thank goodness she hasn't figured out how to move people yet."_

"_At least you can handle her," Cyborg commented._

"_Yeah, it's to bad her father can't," Titania replied. She laughed. "I drives him up the wall that she can do that."_

"_I could see that," Nightwing remarked._

_Titania looked around the room. "Aren't ya'll missing someone? That little red haired girl, the one who always speaks in that other language."_

_Rose bit her lip as a cloud past over many of the Titan's eyes. _

"_Oh dear. Did I say something wrong?" Titania asked, concerned._

"_Oh no, it wasn't you," Rose reassured her. _

"_Starfire is missing," Raven informed Titania._

"_Are there any leads?" Titania asked._

_Terra shook her head. "No. None at all."_

"_Oh guys, I'm so sorry. She is such a sweet and caring girl," Titania said softly. "How long has she been missing?"_

"_About a month and a half," Cyborg answered._

"_Hey. Let's not talk about it right now," Changeling said abruptly. "Why don't we enjoy our time with Titania and Brooklyn?"_

"_That's a good idea Changeling," Cyborg said. "We need to start moving on."_

"_It's what Starfire would want," Rose said softly._

* * *

"_Well, while we wait, I have a question," Jenny announced. _

"_Shoot," Redmond told her._

"_I found a pregnancy test earlier," Jenny informed Redmond and Kori. She took a deep breath. "And I was wondering whose it was."_

"_Well it certainly isn't mine," Redmond said, raising his hands palms up._

"_It's mine," Kori said quietly, her voice soft and timid. "The test is mine." _


	17. Heroes

**Dedication: **Nightstar Grayson, nadiagirl, RoseXxxXThorn, Bunnysquirrel, and RinHaru4ever!

* * *

Nightwing walked into the dark kitchen, not expecting Raven to be sitting at the table sipping hot tea. 

"What are you doing?" he asked, pulling out a chair and sitting down beside her.

"Not much. Just thinking," Raven answered.

Nightwing nodded as they slipped into silence.

"Do you think I pushed Starfire away?" he asked her after awhile.

Raven remained silent for a while, contemplating her answer. "Yes," she said finally. "I think you did."

He sighed and dropped his head in his hands. "Was I obsessed with my work?" he asked.

Raven took a sip of her tea before she answered his question. "Yes. You were. If a case came up that gave us even a little trouble, you would lock yourself away and not talk to anyone." She rolled her mug between her palms. "Starfire was the only one who could get you to communicate with anybody. But even then you wouldn't talk much to her."

Nightwing sighed.

"She cared about you. A lot. You could see it in the way she would talk to you. The way she would look at you," Raven continued. "You could tell because she was the only one who would still want to be with you when you became work obsessed."

"That's what she said," he mumbled.

"But after awhile, she'd visit you less and less. It was like she realized that no matter how hard she tried, she wasn't getting anywhere," Raven continued. "But you could tell she still really cared about you. Maybe even loved you."

"I cared about her too," he answered.

"You had a funny way of showing it," Raven remarked.

Nightwing sighed. "That's what she said as well. But we were _heroes_! We never had time to have a relationship!"

"Roy and Kari did pretty fine," Raven pointed out.

"But that's different."

"How?"

He sighed. "I don't know. I don't know what to do anymore."

"Maybe you should listen to her," Raven suggested.

"Do you think it's to late?" he asked. "Do you think I could salvage any type of relationship between us?"

"Stranger things have happened."

* * *

Kora slipped up onto the roof later that night after her parents had left. She needed time to think. What she had overheard her parents talking about made her uneasy. She wasn't sure if she had overheard the conversation at the wrong time or if she had left the conversation to early. 

"What are you doing up so late?" she heard someone ask her. She turned around to see her father coming up onto the roof.

"Mom always lets me stay up late," she answered.

"Oh," he replied.

Kora rolled her eyes. "First rule of parenting, be able to spot the lie," she informed him. "Kids lie all the time." She laughed. "I could never lie to my mother. She was always able to tell if I was deceitful." They lapsed into silence. "So I heard the two of you arguing earlier," Kora finally announced. "I also heard my mother say that she regret having me."

Nightwing sighed. "Did you bother to hear what she said afterward?"

"No," Kora admitted.

"Well she followed that up saying how you were the best thing in her life," Nightwing continued. "You should have heard the rest."

Kora sighed. "I figured that was the case. Correction, I _hoped_ that was the case."

"Your mother loves you," Nightwing told her.

"Yeah. I know," Kora replied softly. She laughed. "I guess I was overreacting. The whole 'my mom doesn't love me' is a little cliché."

"Yeah well, sometimes life is a little cliché," her father told her.

"I just wish I could understand why she kept me away from you," Kori said.

"I suppose that was my fault," her father told her.

"What do you mean?" Kora asked curiously.

"I wasn't the most… caring person towards your mother," Nightwing told her. "I pushed her away and chose to focus on my work instead."

"That's what she said," Kora told her father. "Why did you push her away?"

"I don't know," Nightwing admitted with a sigh. "She was my best friend. And I cared about her. But we could never be anything more. We were heroes. We didn't have time to have relationships."

"You weren't a hero 24/7," Kora pointed out. "There was more than enough time."

"Perhaps."

"You know…Dad, I'm no judge on relationships, but it sounds like you are afraid of commitment," Kora informed him.

"I don't think so," he answered him.

Kora shrugged. "Ok." They lapsed into silence again. "Um, I'm going to go in," she said finally.

"Kora?" Nightwing said, catching her attention. "Can we do this again? Talk. Preferably next time not about your mom's and my relationship, but maybe you can talk about yourself."

Kora smiled. "I'd like that."

"Goodnight," Nightwing said.

"Night…Dad."

* * *

The sun beat down gently in Kori eyes, slowly waking her. She rubbed her eyes as she sat up in her bed. Last night with Nightwing was a disaster. But what did she expect to happen? Him to beg her for her forgiveness for all the times he pushed her away? That was so absurd. 

She rolled out of bed and walked over to her closet. Sadly though, there wasn't much to choose from. She'd have to retrieve the clothing that had been put into storage. Which hadn't been much. She'd have to go shopping to buy clothing to replace what was lost by the fire.

She sighed as she looked into the mirror and thought about all of the stuff she had said to people lately. Who was she turning into? Not a person she liked to be. Not the person she used to be.

She glanced at her calendar. December 23. She gasped. With all the madness, she had forgotten it was almost Christmas! She'd have to go shopping for a present for Kora.

After changing out of her pajamas, she shuffled her way into the kitchen. Nightwing sat at the table, sipping coffee and reading the newspaper. Not someone she wanted to see.

"Where is everybody?" Kori asked him.

"Kora said something about Redmond and Jenny having to work before Terra took her shopping. Cyborg and Raven went over to Garfield and Rose's," Nightwing answered, not bothering to look up from his paper.

"Oh. Ok," Kori said, making her way to the cabinet and pulling out a mug.

She was all alone with Nightwing? Why couldn't somebody be here?

Nightwing folded up his paper and set it down on the table. "We need to talk."

"We did last night," she answered, closing the cabinet.

Nightwing stood up and walked over to her. "Look Kori, you…you were my best friend," he told her.

"And you were mine," she answered, avoiding him.

Nightwing sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "What do you want from me Kori? To profess my undying love to you?"

"No!" she replied, slamming her mug onto the table.

"Then what do you want?" he demanded.

Kori turned his back on him. "Its to late for what I want."

"Kori come on!" he said, turning her to face him. "What do you mean it is to late?"

"It doesn't matter what I want," she informed him, before turning away from him again.

He groaned before turning her around to face him. "What are you talking about?"

"I gave up on us having any sort of relationship with you before I left 16 years ago," she said, turning away from him for the third time.

"Come on! We were heroes. That was always our first duty," he told her back.

Kori spun around to face him. "Just because we were heroes did not mean that we couldn't have a relationship."

"There was no time for one," he answered. "Besides we couldn't chance our duty if we were to break up."

"Our duty!" Kori cried, tears welling in our eyes. "That's all you could talk about! But I had another duty!"

"And what could that be?" he asked.

"I know this is slightly cliché, but I had a duty to myself!" Kori exclaimed. "I had a duty to my heart as well!" Nightwing didn't say anything so she continued. "Sometimes life isn't about _being_ a super hero _all the time._ There is _more _to life than being a super hero."

"What would have happened if we broke up?" he asked her.

Kori laughed. "Nice to know you would have had faith in our relationship," she said sarcastically.

"I'm being serious here. What would have happened if we broke up?" he repeated.

"But what if we never did?" She sighed and through her hands up into the air. "What am I saying? We never would have had a chance. You wouldn't have allowed it."

She sighed and wiped the tears from her eyes before turning her back to him again and walked out of the kitchen.

* * *

Kori hit the ground running, her feet pounding on the pavement. She had to get out of that place. She had to get away from Nightwing. Being around him brought back feelings for him she fought hard to get rid of. 

She also had to stop and catch her breath. She couldn't go shopping looking like the mess she was. She pulled a compact out of her purse. Oh yes. She was a mess. She sighed and closed her compact. Why did she not stop by the bathroom before she left the house?

Kori spotted the park as she was walking and decided to take a detour. She found a bench out of the way of everyone and sank down into it. She needed to calm down. Kori sighed as she dug in her purse to find her compact again. She felt its shape and pulled it out. The only thing, it wasn't her compact- it was her communicator. She traced the T that was on the front. It brought back so many memories. She turned it on, hearing the familiar ring it made every time she would hit the power button.

She heard a noise rustling in the bush behind her, and was about to turn around and see what it was when she felt a hand over her mouth.

"Don't worry little lady," the man whispered grisly. "We're just going to go on a little trip."

Kori squirmed, as his grip got firmer. She felt her communicator in her hands and discreetly and quickly hit the panic button before dropping it in the grass. That was the last thing she could manage before her world went black.


	18. Doubts, Plans, and Tears

Sorry for the long delay. I have been plagued by the terrible thing that is known as writer's block. But here it is! The next chapter for your enjoyment!

**Dedication: **torral11, Nightstar Grayson, MissCooties, Bunnysquirrel, RoseXxxXThorn, golfprincess, and realfanficts.

* * *

"_You're _pregnant_?" Redmond asked in disbelief._

_Kori looked at the table. "Yeah. I am," she answered in a very small voice. _

"_But how?" Jenny asked her._

"_I can get pregnant the same away as you can Jenny," Kori told her. "__Tamaranian__s get pregnant the same way."_

"_Does it last like a normal pregnancy?" Redmond asked._

_Kori nodded. "Nine months. Tamaranian pregnancies are very much the same as human pregnancies. Its one of our most humanlike traits."_

"_Well, there is no way you are going to help us fight Chang!" Jenny told her._

"_What? Why not?" Kori asked. _

"_You're pregnant Kori. We don't want you to jeopardize the pregnancy," Redmond told her._

"_I'll be fine," Kori insisted._

"_Kori," Jenny said gently._

"_Listen, I am apart of this _family_!" Kori said. "And I _will_ help out."_

"_You think of us as family?" Redmond asked._

"_Yes," she answered, looking softly at a spot on the table. "I was hoping you two could help me raise the baby," she continued, making eye contact with first Redmond then Jenny. _

_Jenny smiled. "What a weird, twisted family we would make."_

"_A former villain, a former hero, and a clone who never chose a side. All trying to raise a baby. What a normal, American family we are," Redmond remarked. "This would make for an interesting sitcom."_

_Kori giggled softly. _

"_It would make for bad TV," Jenny commented dryly. "Really bad TV." She paused. _"_You said we were your family. Well as your family," Jenny said, "we will not allow you to fight while pregnant."_

_Kori sighed. "Jenny. Tamaranians can fight while pregnant without harm towards their unborn. My baby will be fine."_

"_But what if something should happen?" Redmond asked. "We can't go up to any ol' doctor and say 'Hey, help us with this pregnant alien.'"_

"_What if you have a complication? What if you needed a doctor?" Jenny asked. _

"_I'll be fine!" Kori cried!_

"_Is there anyway you can get a doctor?" Redmond asked, patting Kori's hand._

"_I can't just fly up to Tamaran for a doctor's visit," she snapped as she snatched away her hand. She rested it on her belly. "I want my baby to be safe, but I _do not_ want to give away my identity." She sighed and looked back at the spot. "If I go to Tamaran everybody will no who I am. And Sunfire is bound to have told them of my… disappearance by now. If I show up, they'll tell her and we can kiss goodbye or new identities." _

"_But are you sure that there is _nothing_ that can be done?" Jenny asked softly. _

_Kori looked at the spot on the table, lost in a deep thought. "There might be a way," she whispered finally._

"_What?" Jenny asked quickly. _

"_There is a community of people from Tamaran living on Earth. I think they live somewhere around Jump City," Kori said, after a short pause. _

"_Ok. What about them?" Redmond asked._

"_Well, they've kind of lost contact with Tamaran, so if we find them, they might be able to help," Kori answered. _

"_So what you're saying is that they would not tell Tamaran that you actually are alive?" Redmond asked._

"_I'm hoping," Kori said softly. "They didn't leave on bad terms. They just wanted to do something different- something different from Tamaran. They might sympathize with our situation- might understand how we want a fresh start. And there is bound to be a doctor amongst them."_

"_Ok. So tomorrow we find them," Redmond said. _

_

* * *

_

"_That was nice of Changeling to look after Brooke so we could talk," Titania commented as she took a sip. _

_Rose giggled. "She really took a liking to him."_

_The sisters fell silent as they sipped their tea. _

"_I really missed you guys," Titania said finally._

"_So how come you never dropped by?" Raven asked._

_Titania shrugged. "I don't know. I don't know what kept me away. Then I heard what happened to Starfire-" Titania stopped. "Oops."_

_Raven raised her eyebrow. "I thought you just learned about her today."_

_Titania blushed. "Well, I wasn't going to admit that the only reason why I came was to make you feel better about Starfire."_

"_Which you did," Rose said softly. "You and Brooke made us all smile today. The most we have smiled in a long time." _

"_Changeling even cracked a few lame jokes," Raven commented. _

"_I'm glad that I was able to help," Titania said softly. "I knew I needed to do something to help. And what better way to cheer a group up then to bring in a baby?" _

"_Well it worked. Brooke really brightened the room," Raven agreed._

"_Maybe one day she can be a permanent resident of Titan's Tower!" Rose shrieked, jumping up excitedly, sloshing the tea in her cup as she moved up and down. "She can join the family business when we get all old and can't move as fast!"_

"_I don't plan on getting old," Raven joked casually._

_Titania swat at her head and laughed. "Didn't you tell that to Trigana when you were like 3?"_

_Rose sat back down with a giggle. "And Tri retorted that everybody had to grow old-"_

"_Except for her!" Titania burst out with a laugh, helping Rose finish her sentence._

"_That was one of the only times we felt like true sisters," Titania said with a sigh._

"_Do you think Trigana is still alive? Do you think she can ever be found?" Rose asked._

_Titania sighed. "I think the chances of us finding Trigana are about the same as us finding Starfire."_

_"And they both disappeared without a trace," Rose said quietly as a fat tear rolled down her face. _

_

* * *

_

_Later that night Kori curled up in her bed and glanced at the newspaper clipping in her lap. It had a picture of her with her arms wrapped tightly around Nightwing in a celebration of some sort. She felt tears well up in her eyes and brushed them away. She gazed bleary-eyed at the picture one last time before balling it up and tossing it away. She rested her hand on her stomach and sighed. _

"_Am I doing the right thing?" _

_

* * *

_

_He picked up a map and looked at the little x's and o's and arrows. The map laid out the Tower with Starfire's room holding most of the symbols and writing. He stared long at the map, trying to make some sense of it to no avail. At last, he crumpled it up and threw it at the wall. _

_He glanced down at table and saw news paper clips bearing headlines proclaiming the "horrendous" news. Pictures of Starfire blared up from the clippings, pictures of her smiling out at the world. _

_Nightwing felt something growing in his chest. Was it rage? How long had he been working? How long had he been going through everything? And to accomplish what? Nothing! Nothing had been accomplished! Was he ever going to find her? Was he ever going to see her smile again? _

_He felt the rage surge. He picked up the flimsy wooden table from the floor and threw it at a wall, watching it hit and break into pieces. Why wasn't he getting anywhere? Why? He felt like throwing something again. He could feel the rage surging through his veins. _

_His eye suddenly flickered to something lying on the ground. It was a newspaper clipping. He looked at the smiling picture of Starfire with her arms wrapped around firmly around him, clearly a celebration of defeating one of their numerous enemies. He crumbled the paper up and threw it against a wall, snarling in frustration._

_He slumped against the wall and felt something replace the rage in his heart. Was it despair? He felt something drop onto his cheek- something he hadn't felt hit his cheek since he was a young child and had learned his parents had died. He reached up and quickly brushed the tear away. _


	19. Letters

**Dedication:** RoseXxxXThorn and Bunnysquirrel!

* * *

Kori awoke to a throb in her head. She groaned as she rubbed it, not fully awake to see that her wrists were bound together by a dark metal. 

"Where am I?" she whispered to herself, as she looked around the room.

The room was bare and tiny. Kori was thankful she wasn't cluster phobic or she would have been in a world of hurt. What was she doing here anyway? Then she remembered last night. She had been shopping for Christmas when she was attacked. Did that mean she had been kidnapped?

How stupid could she be! She let her guard down! And she got kidnapped! Again! She groaned and slammed her hands down, wincing at the tingling in her hands that resulted. Chances are, this kidnapping wouldn't be as lucky for her, considering the fact that her hands were bound.

Wait a second. A strange looking metal bound her hands. She tried to pull her hands apart but the metal resisted, turning a metallic green color that faded after a minute. She whished she had her strength back to possibly break the metal.

"But would that help?" she asked herself, inspecting the metal.

She pulled on the metal again and watched it turn green then fade.

"Wait a second, this isn't normal metal," she whispered. "This metal is the only one that can hold against a Tamaranian's strength."

She tried to pull her hands apart again.

"Why would someone from Tamaran kidnap me?" She asked herself. "They all think I'm dead. Well thought anyway." She sighed and shook her head. "I'm going crazy! Now I'm talking to myself!"

Since her feet weren't bound she stood up and stretched out her legs, wincing at how weak they seemed. She paced the room back and forth, trying to figure out a solution to her predicament.

Was it Tamaranian Rebels? Did they possibly mistake her for Sunfire? Or did those menacing letters have anything to do with this? Could Chang have possibly kidnapped her? She sighed and sank down to the floor, pulled her legs to her chest, and rested her head on her knees.

Why did she have to be so weak? Why did she let her guard down?

* * *

"How is the plan advancing?" the elderly women asked the man behind the desk. 

He looked up and glared at her. "Damn it! I told you to wait!" he snarled at her.

The woman stepped back in surprise but did not let on that his words had any affect on her.

"I was only curious to see how our plan was advancing," the woman replied curtly.

"I told you to give it time!"

"As I have!" she replied sharply.

"Just wait and let it play out!" he snapped.

"Professor, you are getting older. Do you really have time to play games and 'let things play out'?"

The man sighed and looked her in the eye. "You, Madame, are getting older yourself," he replied before going back to his work. "Give it time."

"Have we made _any_ progress?"

"As a mater of fact we have," he replied, concentrating on his papers. "I have kidnapped the redhead."

"The redhead?" The woman exclaimed. "She is not the one we want!"

The man sighed and looked up from his work. "The Tamaranian Rebels kidnapped the woman. We use her as bait to get Red X and Jinx. Then we give her back to the rebels."

"This is your plan?" the woman asked.

"It'll work."

* * *

"Have you seen my mother?" Kora asked the next morning at the breakfast table, breaking an uncomfortable silence. 

"No I haven't," Raven replied, taking a sip from her steaming mug.

"Well she didn't come home yesterday," Kora replied, looking a little worried.

"Maybe she's at Red Hills," Jenny replied. "You know how she likes to visit Lena."

"What's Red Hills?" Kara asked, walking into the room followed by her mother and cousin.

"Red Hills is the Tamaranian Settlement outside of Jump City," Kora answered.

"Is it like a Rebel Camp?" Sean asked.

"No. Red Hills was created for people who didn't want to live on Tamaran any more," Sunfire replied.

"So your mom goes there a lot?" Terra asked.

"Whenever she is homesick," Kora replied.

"I'm sure that's where she is," Redmond told her, taking a sip of his coffee.

"She has her communicator," Cyborg told her. "If anything happens to her, we will know."

"You're probably right," Kora said, conceding.

"Hey Cy, you mind if we use the computer?" Sean asked.

"We have an English Research Paper to due," Kara said with a look of disgust.

"Ugh!" Kora groaned. "I forgot about the stupid thing."

"It's free," Cyborg replied with a smile.

"Thanks. Our grades really appreciate it," Kara said as they filed out of the room.

"It's not like my mother to be gone without telling me," Kora whispered in the hallway.

"So you don't think she's at Red Hills?" Sean asked.

"Not a chance," Kora replied firmly.

"So where could she be?" Kara asked, opening the door to the computer room.

"I don't know," Kora said. She thought a bit. "Unless Chang came back."

"You mean Professor Chang?" Sean asked.

"Yeah. He might be behind the threatening letters," Kora mused.

"Threatening letters?" Kara exclaimed.

"Yeah. My mom, Red, and Jenny tried to hide them, but I knew," Kora explained.

"But if they aren't worried about it, you shouldn't be either," Kara told her.

"No! My mom would tell me if she was going to be gone for longer than a day!" Kora yelled.

"Shhh!" Sean whispered, raising a finger to his lips. "Not so loud."

"So what will you do?" Kara asked.

"I don't know. I have a hunch," Kora said. "I'll be right back," she said as she snuck out of the room.

* * *

"Red, can I speak to you a minute? In the common room?" Jenny whispered to Redmond once Kora had left. 

"Yeah," he whispered back, getting up and pushing in his chair. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked in the common room.

"If you're thinking about a connection with Kori not coming home and the threatening letters than yeah," Jenny answered.

"But Cyborg's right. She had her communicator on her," Redmond continued. "If anything happened to her, we would know."

"But what if there was a malfunction with the communicator?" Jenny asked. "What if it didn't go through?"

Redmond frowned. "Or she could have it off."

"That would be Kori for you," Jenny said, a look of worry on her face.

Redmond sighed. "Should we even take the letters seriously?"

"Yes! You remember the first time we got them?" Jenny yelled. "Professor Chang showed up while Kori was pregnant!"

"Hush," Redmond commanded. "You don't want them to overhear us."

"To late," Nightwing announced, the Titans flocked behind him.

"We heard almost every word," Rose informed them, Changeling standing beside her at the opposite side of the room, having just walked into the tower.

* * *

Kora wasn't exactly sure what she was looking for, but she knew it had to be in the letters. The very first ones they received, the ones from before she was born would be a good place to start. She new they still existed- her mother was a pack rat. Her only problem was she wasn't sure where the letters would be hidden. Her first guess was storage. She made her way quickly towards the storage, walking past all of the signs advertising the different Christmas sales. 

She wasn't paying attention to where she was going and ran straight into a heavily cloaked man.

"Oh sorry sir," she said quickly, looking up.

The man smiled a toothy grin. "Oh, but I'm not sorry princess."

Kora flashed a look of alarm and her senses jumped into hyper drive as she prepared to fight. This man was obviously up to no good. The only problem- she wasn't quick enough. In the blink of an eye, her world went black.


	20. Surprise in the Park

**Dedications: **RoseXxxXThorn, eviltwin222, Bunnysquirrel, and realfanficts.

* * *

_Kori smoothed down the front of her purple dress and looked at herself in the mirror. Her face didn't betray the night before's crying secession like she had thought it would. The pangs of homesickness had hit her hard, but she had vowed last night to never become weak like that again. She only hoped she could keep it._

_Kori sighed as she ran a brush through her long, red hair._

_"I hope I have a girl," she whispered, as she rested her palm on her stomach. "I want to run a brush through her hair like this. Like my mother used to run a brush through mine."_

_She laughed at the fact that she was talking to herself. It had always sort of been a habit of hers. It's a wonder people didn't think she was crazy!_

_Kori reached into her pocket and pulled out a slip of paper with directions on it- directions to Red Hills, the Tamaranian district. She was only going to make Jenny and Redmond happy. She knew the baby was healthy- and would be too._

_She walked out of the bathroom and down a hallway into the family room._

_"I'm leaving now!" Kori called out, walking to the front door._

_"Are you sure you don't want anybody to come with you?" Jenny asked, walking into the room from the kitchen._

_"Yes. I'm positive."_

_"You have your cell phone?"_

_Kori laughed. "Yes I do."_

_"All right then," Jenny said with a sigh. She gave Kori a hug. "Be safe."_

_Kori laughed again. "I will." She sighed as she opened the door and then closed it behind her._

_

* * *

_

_"Hey Ti," Sunfire said quietly._

_"How are you holding up?" Titania asked._

_Sunfire shrugged. "Ok I guess."_

_Titania patted her hand._

_"Can I ask you something?" Sunfire asked. "How did you get over losing Trigana?"_

_Titania shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just focused on the good memories. However few of them there were." Titania paused. "It gets better over time. I promise."_

_"Really?" Sunfire asked skeptically._

_Titania nodded with a small smile. "It really does."_

_"Have you given up hope on finding her?" Sunfire asked._

_Titania sighed. "I don't know. I haven't completely given up. A small part of me hopes that I will find her one day." Titania paused. "You just have to hand on to the good memories. Like how I hang on to the fact that she disappeared after she helped save the world from Trigon."_

_"I hope we find our sisters one day," Sunfire whispered._

_Titania smiled. "I do too."_

_"So are you and Brooke laving today?" Sunfire asked after a brief silence. _

_"Yeah. We need to head back home," Titania said with a smile._

_Sunfire nodded. "I should probably go home too." She sighed. "I just didn't want to leave the tower in case any information was found."_

_"It will be good for you to go home," Titania said. "It's best just to try and get your life back on track."_

_Sunfire nodded. "I know. I think Roy has been thinking the same thing," she said as she smoothed a wrinkle on the tablecloth._

_"And it would be best for the baby for you to get your life back on track," Titania said gently._

_Sunfire's head shot up. "How… how?" How did she know? She only found out she was pregnant a few days ago. She hadn't even told Roy yet._

_Titania nodded. "So I was right."_

_Sunfire looked at her confused._

_Titania shrugged. "I felt a tiny, extra presence in the room. I had figured that was the case."_

_"I never knew you could feel people's presences," Sunfire told her._

_Titania shrugged again. "Trigana was better at it than I was."_

_Sunfire smiled. "Well don't tell anyone yet? 'K?"_

_Titania nodded. "No problem." She stood up. "I should probably go pack up. And wrestle my daughter away from Changeling."_

_

* * *

_

_As she was walking along the sidewalk, she realized she must have been the only one who was not in a hurry to go somewhere. Everybody passed by her in a rush, with most of the people busy on their cell phone or blackberry. She never understood that habit many humans seemed to have adopted. She preferred to not rush._

_She was grateful when she came to the entrance to the park. It was a nice short cut away from the hustle and bustle of the semi-crowded, loud sidewalks. She made a mental note to tell Jenny and Red that they would have to come to the park with the baby when he or she was born._

_She decided to take a break and sit down on a park bench and enjoy the park. It was beautiful and not yet crowded with children's joyful yells. But she could imagine the children running and playing while mothers sat on the benches and gossiped. She hoped her child and her could do that. They could come to the park and play everyday after school and work. Maybe take Jenny and Red with them on Sundays and have a picnic. Kori smiled and for the first time, she felt 100 percent at ease with her decision to leave the Titans._

_

* * *

_

_Nightwing had chosen this spot because it was hidden away from the view of anybody who might be at the park this early in the morning. And though he was hidden away from the park's view, the park was not completely hidden away from his view. He looked out around the park and watched the sparse number of people stroll around._

_He watched a young mother usher along a child of about three away from a large rock. He watched a squirrel scurry from one tree to another. He watched a young woman with fiery red hair sit down at a park bench. She looked so familiar, like someone he knew. She looked like…like Starfire._

_He drew in a sharp breath and looked away, shaking his head. What was he thinking? He was going insane. He looked back up at her. There was no way she was Starfire. Sure, she had the long, curled bright red hair that resembled hers. And yes, her skin color did resemble Starfire's. And her dress was a deep purple and it resembled Starfire's outfit in so many ways… there was no way she could be her. Could there? He looked away and then back at the girl and saw Starfire sitting there._

_"Starfire!" Nightwing yelled, jumping up from his seat on the bench. He made his way out from the cover of the trees. "Starfire!"_

_The woman's head shoots up and a look of panic fills her eyes._

_"Starfire!" Nightwing yells again, running to her spot on the bench._

_The woman saw him moving towards her and got up to flee._

_"No! Wait!" Nightwing shouts, following her. "Please! Stop!"_

_But the girl would not stop. She just kept running. He chased after her, giving it a burst of speed._

_"Wait!" he said, reaching out and grabbing the woman's arm. He pulled her around to face him and got a good look at her face. Starfire's face. Her bright green eyes were shimmering with tears. There was something in them- fear, pain he didn't know. "Starfire!" he whispered._

_She shook her head. "Let me go," she whispered, using Nightwing's moment of weakness to break free. She took off, running fast through the trees._

_"No! Wait!" Nightwing yelled. "Please! Wait!" He took off after her but ended up losing her in the trees. "Please! Wait!" he called, running after her, but the defeat was clear in his voice. He stopped running due to the fact that all sight of her was gone. He sank down against a tree. "I was so close!" he yelled, slamming his fist down in the dirt. "I was so close."_

_

* * *

_

_Kori kept running. She felt her feet moving faster and faster, weaving her through the trees. She had to get away from him. She just had to. How could he have gotten so close? How?_

_Certain she was away from Nightwing, she sank down against a tree and began to cry. How could he come right when she was finally comfortable with her decision? How could he come and mess it up? She sighed and lifted her head. She had to get a move on with her life. She would fly to the village. Fly and get information on her baby for Red and Jenny. She stood up and tried to fly but realized that she couldn't. She sighed and tried again, but flight just would not come to her. Fresh tears fell from her face as she sank back to the ground. Now everything from her old life had completely disappeared._


	21. Family and Ransom Notes

**Dedication: Bunnysquirrel, RoseXxxXThorn, and realfanficts!**

* * *

Kori was leaning against a wall with her knees pulled up tightly to her chest and her head resting on her knees. She figured it would be best to just save her energy and not waste it on trying to break out of here. Besides, it was not like the strength she possessed would even come close to the strength the metal could take. Maybe if she possessed her Tamaranian powers it would be easier. 

But life was not about what ifs, maybe ifs. It was about reality. That was something she had learned while living on Earth. You just deal with reality. And right now, reality was telling her that she was to be kidnapped with little hope of getting out.

But that meant she would not give up. It just meant that she wouldn't do anything right now. Not until she knew enough information to get out. Although, it was not that bad here. So far she had been left relatively alone- and was away from the hell that was her life.

She jumped at the sound of the door creaking open.

"I've brought your lunch," and elderly woman informed her.

Kori looked at her curiously. The woman looked so familiar.

"H.I.V.E. Headmistress?" Kori asked.

The woman laughed. "So you recognize me."

Kori nodded. "What do you want of me?" Kori demanded.

"Do not concern yourself with that."

"How can I not?" Kori demanded. "I'm being held captive."

The headmistress set the tray down in front of Kori.

"If you insist on knowing, I will tell you what you wish to know," she said as she walked to the door.

"What will you do to me?"

"That depends on others. You are really just a bargaining chip. We can't harm you right now."

"A bargaining chip? For what?"

"That does not matter," she answered Kori, walking out the door. "Oh," she said, turning around to face Kori. "I've heard that rebels have taken your niece," she informed Kori with a small smile before walking out the door, leaving Kori dumbstruck.

* * *

Kora was floating. That was the only way to describe it- floating. She wanted to open her eyes, but she had a strange feeling that that might not be a wise idea, so she kept them wired shut. Not more than two seconds later, she learned that her decision had been a good one. 

"What do I do with the Princess?" a gruff voice asked.

"Over there," was the reply. "There should be a pillow that you can put her head on. We don't want to inconvenience Princess Kara," the man said sarcastically.

Wait. Kara? They got the wrong girl. She would just have to play the part of her friend. No cousin, she corrected herself. If she let it slip that she wasn't Kara, Kara could be in danger too. She would have to pretend to be her cousin. It was the only way to protect her. But who would want to go after Kara?

Kara felt herself begin to move in some direction. She wasn't being moved in the gentlest manner but she knew that couldn't be helped. What a thought to think that her captors would actually be gentle. She felt herself come to a stop, the suddenness of it causing her head to hit her captor.

"This is the room," she heard a voice say.

"Everything is prepared," another voice, a younger one, continued.

She heard the opening of a door and than felt herself begin to move again. She was then set somewhat gently on the floor, her head placed on a pillow. She then felt her left leg be chained to something. She waited for her wrists to be bound but it didn't happen. There were some brief whispers and then the sound of a door slam.

Kora was about to role over and open her eyes when she heard a heavy sigh.

"Why the hell did I get stuck doing this job?" the young voice grumbled. "I don't even want to do this! It's been 'Kyler' do this and 'Kyler' do that. Now I'm stuck guarding some spoiled Princess."

"Hey, I'm not spoiled!" Kora exclaimed, sitting up with a wild look in her eyes. Her eyes widened when she realized her mistake.

"How long have you been awake?" the young boy demanded.

"Long enough to here you call me spoiled," Kora answered.

"Hey!" he answered, pointing at her. "Don't give me attitude!"

"Or what?" Kora demanded.

"I don't feed you!"

"Fine! It's not like I'd want to eat it anyway! Who knows if it's been poisoned or something!" Kora retorted.

"Fine! Go hungry!" he answered her, before turning his attention away from Kora.

It gave Kora the opportunity to get a better look at him. He didn't look to be much older than her. He was a skinny lad with tan, spiky hair that flopped down into his green eyes. He was wearing a traditional Tamaranian outfit which made Kora suspect that they could be Tamaranian rebels. She didn't know much about the rebels but knew they were working hard to try and overthrow Galfore who had been declared Grand Ruler by the royal family almost 18 years ago.

"Do you want food?" he asked suddenly.

"I'm not hungry," Kora answered before her stomach growled.

He snorted. "That noise would suggest otherwise," he remarked.

"Fine," Kora said. "Maybe I'm a little hungry."

"Here," he answered, sliding over a tray with a peace of bread and what looked like a meat. He had an identical tray in front of him.

"So do you have a name?" Kora asked, picking at the food.

"Kyler," he answered, taking a bite out of his bread.

Kora nodded. "I'm Ko-Kara," Kora answered.

"I know."

"Oh. Um, ok."

The two sat in an awkward silence. Kyler continued to eat his food while Kora just picked at it. She wasn't sure what to make of the food. The bread was a little hard and the meat was a little rubbery.

"So, do you know why I'm here?" Kora asked nervously.

"Not really," Kyler answered. "I just do what I'm told- whether I want to or not."

"Oh. So I guess this is something you didn't want to do?" Kora asked.

"Babysitting a spoiled princess isn't my idea of fun," Kyler remarked dryly.

"I'm not spoiled!" Kora snapped. "Nor am I a princess."

"Just because your aunt named Galfore the Grand Ruler of Tamaran before she disappeared, that does not mean that you are not a princess. Your mother is still of royal blood."

So her mother was the one who placed Galfore in charge. And no wonder they thought she was Kara. Her mother had disappeared before she was born so no one knew of her birth. And Kara and Kora looked almost exactly alike. It was starting to make sense. But why would the rebels want to kidnap Kara? Unless they were using Kara to get to Kari.

* * *

"What is going on?" Sunfire demanded. 

"What aren't you telling us?" Raven asked.

"Nothing!" Jenny said in a high pitch squeak. "It's really nothing. Why would anything be going o-" Redmond stopped Jenny's babbling by covering her mouth with his hand.

"Nothing is going on. Jenny is just acting a little funny because she is tired," he informed the Titans.

"Come on. Are you going to expect us to believe that?" Arsenal asked.

"What letters are you talking about?" Nightwing demanded.

"Letters? What letters? Redmond do you know of any letters?" Jenny squeaked.

"The letters are nothing," Redmond answered, ignoring Jenny, who was looking at him with a look of horror on her face.

"Then why is she so concerned about them?" Changeling asked, pointing to Jenny.

"Because she worries about petty stuff," Redmond answered coolly.

"Hey!" Jenny exclaimed. "I do not!" She paused then giggled. "Wait, uh yes! Yes I do!"

"Look, maybe we can help," Cyborg said, trying to play peace maker.

"Yeah," Terra agreed. "Just tell us what is going on.

"Nothing is going on that our family cannot handle," Redmond answered coolly.

"Starfire is our family too!" Rose exclaimed.

"And I'm actually family by blood!" Sunfire continued.

"Look, guys, it's cool that you want to help. Really. But well, we just don't need it," Jenny said. "We've been able to handle things before, we can take care of ourselves now."

"Why are you fighting this?" Terra asked. "Why can't we help?"

"Starfire left you for us!" Jenny snapped hysterically. "We can handle this ourselves."

"Really, because it doesn't look like it," Rose pointed out.

"Starfire doesn't need your help! She doesn't want it! If she did she would have asked you for it a long time ago!" Jenny yelled, bunching her fists against her small trembling body. "Do not interfere."

"It's ok. We got it," Redmond told the Titans, ushering his small, quivering companion away from the Titans and to his room.

"Why can't they let us handle this?" Jenny demanded. "Why? This is our problem."

"But Starfire- Kori is a Titan. We just want to help protect one of our own," Terra said, coming into the room.

"Ex! Ex Titan!" Jenny squealed angrily.

"Why are you all fighting this?" Terra asked. "Why?"

"Don't come butting into our business!" Jenny exclaimed, storming out to go to her room.

"Look, Terra is it?" Redmond asked then continued when he saw her nod. "If Kori needed your help, she would have asked for it earlier."

"But what if she didn't know what she wanted?" Terra asked.

"We're Kori's family now. Ok? And right now, family is all any of us have," Redmond said. "And I'm not about to lose my family."

* * *

How dare they! How dare they! Where do they think they get off, telling Redmond and her how to deal with the situation? She felt like throwing something, breaking something. This was her family they were trying to interfere with. And until Kori said she wanted their help, she was going to keep on shutting them out. 

There was a soft knock on her door.

"Why are they trying to butt into our lives?" Jenny demanded, her back to the door so she missed Cyborg slipping in. "I mean seriously. We can handle our-" Jenny cut off her sentence as she whirled around to get a look at who was at her door. "Oh. Sorry," she said, lowering her bright pink eyes. "I thought you were Redmond," she whispered.

"You want to tell me what's going on?" Cyborg asked, still leaning in the doorway.

"Nothing we can't handle!" Jenny snapped.

"Are you sure? Because you seem really wound up," Cyborg commented.

"I'm not wound up!" Jenny yelled.

Cyborg came took a step closer to Jenny. "Are you sure your all right? Or, do you always act like this now?" He tilted up her chin to get a closer look at her pink eyes, which now happened to be shimmering with tears.

"Everything is not all right!" she choked.

"What's going on?" he asked, taking her hand and sitting her down on her bed. He pulled out a chair from the desk for himself. "You can tell me."

"It's nothing really," Jenny answered.

Cyborg shrugged. "Well, if its nothing then you should be able to tell me."

"It doesn't matter!" Jenny exclaimed, her tiny body shaking.

"Obviously it does," Cyborg said gently, "Or else you wouldn't be this crazy right now."

"Fine! You want to know what my problem is?" Jenny asked. "It's you Titans! You come bursting into my family's lives and get mad when we don't tell you things that doesn't matter to you in the first place!" she yelled. "If Kori really wants your help, she will ask it! Until then, don't mess with my family!"

"Family really means a lot to you huh?" Cyborg asked.

"You have no idea," Jenny answered. "I've never had a family until them." Jenny paused as tears filled her eyes. "Ok, so that's not true. I did sort of have a family with The Flash," Jenny admitted.

"What happened?" Cyborg asked carefully.

"I messed up," Jenny confessed.

"How?"

Jenny sighed. "I got mixed up with a bad crowd. It cost me my home, my husband, our children."

"Was the Flash your husband?"

Jenny nodded. "After ya'll defeated the Doom Patrol, we kind of settled down." Jenny felt a fresh wave of tears hit her. "I finally had a family that I had never had. And we had children! It was a happy home. Then one mistake and it was all over." Jenny sighed, trying to stop her tears. "But now, I have a family again. Another happy one. And it's falling apart!"

* * *

"Kora has been gone for a long time," Kara whispered to her cousin. "Didn't she say she was going to be right back?" 

"Maybe she got distracted," Sean whispered.

"Or maybe she got taken!" Kara gasped.

"By who?" Sean demanded. "Nobody is after her."

"True."

"Look, if she doesn't come back in a few hours, then we could worry," Sean told her.

"Yeah, but then the adults will know by then too," Kara said.

"What do you propose we do?" Sean asked. "We don't know anything.

"What if she went to Red Hills?" Kara asked.

"And do what? She doesn't know anything either."

"I don't know ok? I was just suggesting something!" Kara yelled, before realizing her mistake and turning down her volume. She started towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Sean demanded.

"To the roof. I'm going to get some fresh air," Kara answered.

"I'm coming with you," Sean informed her.

"Fine," Kara whispered back.

"Where are you to going?" Sunfire asked, surprising the pair.

"Oh, we're just going to the roof," Kara told her nervously.

"Where's Kora?" her mother asked.

"Um, she's um," Kara sputtered.

"She's already up there," Sean quickly cut in. "We were coming up to join her because we finally saved the file."

Sunfire nodded suspiciously. "All right. Why is she acting weird?"

"Weird, I'm not acting weird," Kara laughed nervously.

"She's just tired," Sean said quickly. "She's tired of homework. Good thing we finished huh?"

"Sure," Sunfire said, still looking at her daughter with doubt.

"Bye now," Sean said, pushing Kara towards the door.

"They're up to something," Sunfire told her husband who just walked up. "I just don't know what."

* * *

"That was close," Kara giggled nervously. 

"You need to stop spazing out," Sean told her. "Your mom is going to start to wonder."

"Sorry!" Kara yelled. "I panicked."

"Well calm down," Sean said.

"Hey, what's that?" Kara asked, leaning against the edge of the roof and pointing at a something fluttering in the wind at the ground of the tower.

"I dunno."

"Well, I'm gonna go look," Kara said, flinging her arms out and taking a nose dive off the side. She pulled before hitting the ground and grabbed at it. She then did a flip and flew up to Sean. "Let's look at it inside."

Sean nodded and headed towards the door. "Do you know what it is?"

Kara shrugged. "No idea. But we can look at it in the computer room," she said as she followed Sean, the fact that she wanted fresh air had slipped her mind.

He opened the door to the computer room and slipped inside. Kara immediately sat down and opened up the first envelope and scanned it quickly. She gasped at what she was reading.

"What? What is it?" Sean asked.

"A ransom note! For Kori!" Kara said quickly.

"What's in the other one?" Sean asked anxiously.

"What do you have there?" Sunfire asked, blocking the doorway.

"Nothing!" Kara yelled, shoving the letters behind her back.

"Really?" he mother asked. "Because it certainly looks like something."

"If it's nothing you can show us," her father answered.

Kara exchanged a look with Sean who shrugged. Kara sighed and handed over the letters to her mother. Sunfire glanced over the first letter as her eyes grew wide.

"This is a ransom note for my sister!" she exclaimed, showing the letter to her husband.

He grabbed it from her. "What is the other one?"

"I don't know," she answered as she opened the second one. Her eyes skimmed over it quickly before gasping. "Kara! It's a ransom note! For you!"


	22. Second Thoughts

Hey guys. I'm terribly sorry about the long delay. Writer's block is a mean thing.

Dedication: RoseXxxXThorn, Bunnysquirrel, realfanficts, SaoirseWaveglow, and rite4fun!

* * *

_Nightwing was sure that that girl had been Starfire. It had to have been her. Nobody else had that bright red of hair. Nobody else had that orange of skin color. It had to have been her. Why did she run away from him? She had been kidnapped- he would have been able to save her. He'd take her back to the tower and everyone would rejoice that he had managed to bring back Starfire. And they'd go on living their happy, normal lives of saving Jump City._

_"But I lost her! I lost her!" Nightwing sighed as he threw a handful of dirt at a tree. "Why did she run away? Why did she run away from _me_?" he questioned the trees. "Why didn't you stop her?" Nightwing shook his head. "Great. I'm going crazy. I just asked a tree why it didn't stop my girlfriend." _

_Had he just referred to Starfire as his girlfriend? Had he really? _

"_Ok! I know I'm too late!" he yelled for all the trees to hear. "I messed up! I should've realized sooner! But I know now! Does that not count for anything?"_

_He jumped up and faced the tree he had been leaning against. He threw his fist into the tree, grazing his knuckles against a rough, jagged edge. He failed to notice that the bark had slit a small section of his skin._

_

* * *

Kori slowly made her way back home. She wasn't sure how long she had sat by the tree, but it must have been awhile since the sun was setting. She didn't bother to go to the Tamaranian district. She couldn't face them now that she couldn't fly. _

_"Hey Kori, Welcome back," Redmond greeted her. "How'd it go… What happened to you?" _

_Kori was definitely a sight for sore eyes. Twigs had gathered in her hair, dirt had accumulated on her clothes, and her eyes were puffy and red._

"_I ran into Nightwing," she sobbed as she ran into Red's open arms. He held her tight and stroked her hair. "I'm sorry," Kori said as she wiped her eyes. "It's just, am I really doing the right thing?" she asked as Redmond led her to the couch. "Am I really? I saw him in the park. I saw the pain that was on his face. Am I doing the right thing?"_

_Red grabbed her chin and pulled her face up to make eye contact with her. "Then why are you here. Why did you run away from him?"_

"_I…I don't know!" Kori wailed. _

"_Yes you do. You know darn good and well why you didn't stay with him, let him take you back to the tower."_

"_I was protecting you!"_

"_How? How is not staying with him protecting me?" _

"_Because if I went with him he'd ask who took me!"_

"_What does this have to do with anything Kori? What is the real reason why you ran?"_

"_Because I'm afraid he'll just continue to break my heart! If I went with him, he'd just keep rejecting me! I'm better off here." She sighed and looked up at Redmond. "I'm better off here," she repeated with a faint smile. She sighed. "Besides, the Tower is not place to raise a baby." She paused. "But I just don't want Nightwing to be in pain because of me."_

_

* * *

Ngihtwing ran all the way back to Titan's Tower. With each step he felt his mind drift further and further away. He would give anything to just have his thoughts leave his head. Anything to make the pain his thoughts brought go away. _

"_Where is everybody?" Nightwing asked Raven, the only person in the kitchen, when he finally arrived in the tower. _

"_Titania went home, Cyborg is working on his car, and Terra, Changeling, and Rose went to help some people evacuate a burning building and put the fire out. Cyborg was going to meet up with them and they were going to go get pizza afterwards," Raven answered. She turned to face Nightwing and her eyes grew wide. "What happened to you? You're covered in dirt and your hand is bleeding." Raven crossed the room to where Nightwing was standing and picked up his hand to heal it._

"_Leave it!" Nightwing snapped as he jerked his hand away from Raven. _

"_If I don't fix it, you'll be left with a scar," Raven reminded him._

"_Fine."_

"_You want to tell me what is going on?" Raven demanded._

"_I ran into Starfire."_

_Raven's eyes grew wide. "Where is she?" _

"_I don't know! She ran away from me!"_

"_Are you sure it was her? Maybe you freaked a look-alike."_

"_NO! It was her. I know it was!"_

"_But then why did she run away?"_

"_I don't know!" Nightwing yelled. He sighed. "You should have seen her. You should have seen the pain in her eyes. Why did she run away from me?"_

"_Maybe she's afraid."_

"_Of what?"_

"_Of you. You reject her all the time. Maybe enough was enough."_

"_Don't be ridiculous." _

"_Am I being ridiculous? You know it's true."_

"_Yeah. But I'm willing to change for her."_

"_But she doesn't know that." She looked at Nightwing's gloomy face. "But there could be several reasons why she left. And it could still not have been her. But the best we can do is hope that she comes back to us."_

"_It's my fault she's not here. My fault that she may never be here ever again."_

"_Do you think she really wants you to be like this? Blaming yourself? Acting like a mess?"_

"_The old Starfire. I don't know about this new Starfire I saw in the park."_

"_Do you really think Starfire would change so much that she would want you to blame yourself?"_

_Nightwing sighed. "No. I don't."_

"_Good. Then don't. It's not natural for yourself to." _

_

* * *

Sunfire sighed as she opened the door to the small apartment she shared with her husband. It wasn't a sad sigh; it was more of a content sigh. Each day was getting just a little bit easier and Arsenal was trying very hard to make sure she would become cheerful again and move on with her life. And earlier that day, Sunfire received a new reason to move on with her life._

_Sunfire pushed open the door and hung her keys on the rack next to the door. The room was surprisingly dark. Arsenal was supposed to have had the day off so he should be at home now. She flicked on the light as she walked into the living room/kitchen/dining room. _

"_Surprise!" Arsenal said softly, standing behind the table. _

_Tears filled Sunfire's eyes. The table was set up as a candlelit dinner for two. _

_Arsenal was by her side in an instant. "Why are you crying?" he asked her, wrapping his arms around her. _

"_This is so sweet," she sobbed into his shoulder. "Really sweet."_

_Arsenal laughed. "Well as long as they are happy tears, that's ok."_

"_Why did you do this?" _

"_Well, I think you could use a little cheering up. You've been so sad lately." _

"_I have been, haven't I?" _

"_Yeah. I know it's tough for you to loose your sister, but you just have to keep moving forward, one day at a time. I just want you to be happy."_

"_Well," Sunfire said hesitantly. "I have a reason for why we need to move on. A reason that should make us both very happy."_

"_What?"_

"_I'm pregnant."_


End file.
